Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about an Education Health and Care Plan review delay, communication issues and delays in replying to her complaint. We are unlikely to be able to significantly add to the Council’s reply to her complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) annual review was delayed, the Council communicated poorly and delayed in replying to 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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement; or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization. (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 Miss X and the Council’s replies to her.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X is the mother of Y. Y has an EHC Plan. This is reviewed yearly. Y’s annual review was due in February 2025. The school arranged a date in early February. An officer whose report would be important to the review had been involved in an incident needing hospital treatment. It meant they could not complete their report and the case had to be reallocated. The review was rearranged for the end of March.
6. Miss X complained to the Council about this delay and communication issues connected with it. The Council replied at its stage one and then its stage two in August 2025. It said the delay could not have been foreseen. It apologised for communication issues and offered £350 as a remedy.

Analysis

7. The circumstances causing the annual review delay, are exceptional. If the school had gone ahead with the annual review in early February it would have risked an inadequate and incomplete review. The delay caused is not of a length we usually say could cause a significant enough injustice to need a remedy.
8. The Council has offered a remedy for the delay and communication issues. We are unlikely to add to this as it exceeds our own guidance on remedies.
9. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we are unlikely to add to the Council’s reply to the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman