Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (25 012 098)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 Jan 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to provide occupational therapy provision for the complainant’s child. This is because they have a right of appeal to the tribunal about the contents of the Education, Health and Care plan and it is reasonable to expect them to use this right.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained the Council has failed to provide the occupational therapy provision her son needs.
- She says this has led to him becoming increasingly frustrated and anxious and nervous of school placements.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X complained the Council has failed to provide the occupational therapy provision that her son needs. She says it has not carried out the necessary assessments or taken in to account expert opinion and provided all the support advised.
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the occupational therapy provision. The substantive issue Mrs X is complaining about is the extent of the provision and other issues with the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan the Council have issued.
- The contents of an EHC plan carry a right of appeal to the Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right of appeal to address these concerns.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has a right of appeal to the tribunal and it is reasonable to expect her to use this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman