Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions following missed speech and language therapy provision for Miss X’s child. There is not enough evidence of injustice caused by fault in the Council’s actions to warrant our further involvement.

The complaint

1. Miss X said the Council failed to tell her a speech and language therapist (SALT) had left and her child was missing provision. She said it crammed provision into five weeks at the end of the school year. She said it also failed to arrange an emergency review of her child’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan and did not deal promptly with her complaint

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. The Council accepted Miss X was not told when a SALT left. It accepted there was a gap between early March 2025 and early June 2025 when there was no SALT available. However, the timing of the delivery of six sessions over a 12-month period was a matter for the newly appointed SALT to decide. Investigation by us would be unlikely to find fault with the timing chosen.
6. I note the Council offered Miss X an emergency review, though not as quickly as she wished, and that she declined the offer. Investigation of this matter would be unlikely to lead to a funding of fault causing injustice.
7. The Council completed the complaint process with 12 weeks of acknowledging the complaint. That is unlikely to be a matter where we would find fault.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault causing injustice in the Council’s actions to warrant our further involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman