Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. Miss X has appealed to a tribunal which places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Miss X is unhappy with how the Council reached decisions about the EHC Plan’s content and the Council has now decided to cease the EHC Plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. 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.
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint.
9. Parents who want to challenge decisions about the content of EHC Plan or a decision to cease an EHC Plan have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. It is the mechanism set up by Parliament for parents to challenge such decisions. Miss X has used her right of appeal.
10. The law is clear that when a parent has appealed to a tribunal, the matter appealed, or anything closely linked, are outside our jurisdiction. This includes the content of the EHC Plan if appealed, a decision to cease the EHC Plan, and the Council’s decision-making process. This exclusion applies from when the appeal rights were available to when the Tribunal issued its decision. Miss X’s complaint is not one we can consider.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has appealed to a tribunal. This means we have no powers to consider the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman