Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (25 012 059)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We upheld this complaint about delays in the Council issuing an Education Health and Care Plan. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by apologising to Miss X and paying her a £600 symbolic payment.
The complaint
- Miss X complained the Council did not meet statutory timescales in issuing her child’s (Y) Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
- Miss X said the matters caused distress.
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)
- 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
- Miss X asked the Council to complete an EHC Needs Assessment for Y in August 2024. In September 2024 the Council agreed it would complete the assessment.
- If a council goes on to issue an EHC Plan, the whole process from the point when an assessment is requested until the final EHC Plan is issued must take no more than 20 weeks.
- If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find fault because the Council issued Y’s final EHC Plan in July 2025 and the process took 49 weeks. In its complaint response, the Council upheld the complaint.
- We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused to Miss X by the delays.
Agreed action
- Within one month of this final decision the Council agreed to:
- write to Miss X and apologise for the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delay in the EHC process; and
- pay Miss X £600 to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delay in the EHC Process.
Final decision
- We upheld Miss X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman