London Borough of Redbridge (25 004 586)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Mrs X’s complaint because the Council delayed completing the annual review of her son’s Education Health and Care Plan. It also missed the phased transfer deadline. The Council has agreed to provide a proportionate remedy to Mrs X.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains that the Council delayed completing the annual review of her son’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan and missed the phased transfer deadline. Mrs X says this caused uncertainty and frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended).
- If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended).
- Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. There was a delay in completing the annual review and the phased transfer deadline was missed. The Council acknowledged this and apologised to Mrs X.
- We asked the Council to consider resolving the complaint early by paying Mrs X £400 in recognition of frustration and uncertainty caused by the delay. The Council agreed.
Agreed Action
- To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint by completing the payment of £400 within one month of this decision.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman