Summary: We have upheld this complaint about the Council’s failure to complete an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment for the complainant’s child within the statutory timescale. The Council has agreed to provide a proportionate remedy and this removes the need for us to investigate.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains that the Council has failed to complete an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) for his child within the timescale set out in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X requested an EHCNA for his child in August 2024. To date, the Council has not decided whether to proceed to issue an Education Health and Care plan. The process has therefore been delayed by at least ten months so far.
7. The Council has upheld Mr X’s complaint and has attributed the delay in part to the lack of educational psychology resource. The Ombudsman regards delay in assessing education health and care needs due to the lack of specialist advice as amounting to service failure. We are satisfied that the Council has a plan in place to address the lack of specialist advice.
8. If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely we would find fault causing Mr X injustice because of the distress and uncertainty caused by the delay.

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Agreed action

9. We have asked the Council to, within one month of the date of this decision, offer to make a symbolic payment of £1000 to Mr X in recognition of the ten-month delay so far. We have also asked it to pay £100 for each further month until it issues an appealable decision, to a maximum of £600 in recognition of the further delay.
10. To its credit the Council has agreed to take the action we asked for. This removes the need for us to investigate

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Final decision

11. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman