Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about delay in the annual review for her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because the Council apologised and offered to pay her £500. We consider this is a suitable remedy and it is unlikely further investigation would achieve anything more for Mrs X.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about delay by the Council in issuing her child’s updated Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan after an annual review. She also says the finalised EHC Plan and decision letter were dated incorrectly, which shortened her appeal right to the SEND Tribunal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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My assessment

6. Where a child has an EHC Plan the council responsible for maintaining the plan should review it regularly and at least every 12 months. Mrs X’s child’s EHC Plan annual review began with a meeting on 8 Jan 2025. The Council should have issued the final amended EHC plan within 12 weeks of the review meeting; by 2 April 2025. The Council did not amend the EHC Plan until 9 September 2025, a delay of around 5 months.
7. The Council accepts it took longer than it should to complete the process. It has explained that a high number of requests for EHC plans contributed to the delay. The Council’s delay caused Mrs X frustration and distress
8. While I appreciate Mrs X is frustrated the Council wrongly dated the final EHC Plan and decision letter I cannot say this affected her right of appeal or caused her significant injustice. The Council has now rectified the issue and if Mrs X disagrees with the content of the amended Plan she may appeal to the SEND Tribunal. In recognition of this it has offered Mrs a remedy of £500, which is £100 for each month of delay. This is in line with our guidance and amounts to a suitable remedy for the impact of the delay on Mrs X and her child. We cannot say the delay altered the content of the amended EHC Plan or pre-judge the outcome of an appeal. It is therefore unlikely investigation would achieve significantly more for Mrs X.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the Council apologised and offered a suitable remedy. It is therefore unlikely further investigation would achieve anything worthwhile for Mrs X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman