Buckinghamshire Council (25 010 047)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment process. The Council has already upheld this complaint and made an offer of a suitable remedy for the injustice. There are no wider public interest issues to justify an investigation.
The complaint
- Miss X complained about delays in the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment process. Miss X said the Council refused to accept an educational psychologist (EP) report which her child’s (Y) school had commissioned.
- Miss X said the matter caused her and her family uncertainty and stress and impacted on Y’s education.
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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained about delays in the EHC Needs Assessment process, the Council caused by refusing to accept a privately commissioned EP report. This was despite the Council telling Miss X there would be delays in allocating an EP to Y due to shortages in the workforce.
- The Council provided further information, confirming it has since issued Y with a final EHC Plan, and it decided to use the privately commissioned EP report to inform the final Plan. The final plan however, was delayed by three months in total from the statutory deadline.
- As a remedy to Miss X’s complaint, the Council offered its apologies and a £150 symbolic payment due to the delays it had caused.
- In considering all available information, I do not believe an Ombudsman investigation would be able to achieve significantly more for Miss X. The Council’s offer of a remedy appears appropriate for the delay caused. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council has already offered a suitable remedy and there are no other public interest issues that justify investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman