Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a failure to review his statement of Special Educational Needs between 2008 and 2014. It is unlikely an investigation would reach a worthwhile outcome. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a complaint about the Council’s response to his Subject Access Request.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to regularly review his statement of Special Educational Needs between 2008 and 2014, which means he missed out on special educational provisions and education both as a child and as a young adult. He says the failures have also had a long-term impact and led to him requiring more recent adult social care support.
2. He also complains the Council has not provided him with a full copy of his records.
3. He wants the Council to explain why reviews were missed, provide a financial remedy for lost education and support and provide him with a full copy of his records.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We will not investigate this complaint. Mr X’s complaint relates to events that happened over 10 years ago. Due to the time that has passed, it is unlikely we would be able to establish with any confidence what happened and why, or reliably conclude that a failure to carry out reviews caused Mr X to miss out on special educational provisions or education at the time.
8. We could also not conclude that a failure to carry out the reviews between 2008 and 2014 has led to him needing additional support more recently, as an adult. Due to the time that has passed, we could not reliably establish a causal link between the two issues. It is unlikely we would be able to reach a meaningful or sound decision, so would not recommend the financial remedy that Mr X wants.
9. We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s response to his Subject Access Request. If Mr X considers the Council has failed to release all the documents he requested, he can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is the UK’s regulator for information rights and data protection matters and is better placed to consider a complaint about this.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely an investigation would lead to a worthwhile outcome or achieve what Mr X wants. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a complaint about the Council’s response to his Subject Access Request.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman