Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. Consideration of the complaint would not now lead to a different outcome. It was reasonable for Mrs X to use her right of appeal if she wanted to challenge the content of the plan the Council issued.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complained about the Council’s handling of her child’s (Y) Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Mrs X says the Council took too long to complete an annual review and did not give Mrs X the chance to comment on a draft plan. Mrs X wants the Council to recognise its mistake and issue a draft plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. 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)
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.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council reviewed Y’s EHC Plan on 02 May 2025. It then had 12 weeks to complete the process. The Council should have issued the revised EHC Plan by 25 July. The Council issued a final EHC Plan on 18 September – just under three months late.
8. Mrs X complained to the Council about the delay and that it had not shared a draft plan. The Council apologised and offered Mrs X £650.
9. While I understand Mrs X’s frustrations, we will not start an investigation into her complaint. This is because if we were to investigate it is unlikely we would recommend a remedy greater than the one already offered for the delay and failure to issue a draft plan. The Council has already apologised and accepted its mistake. An investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
10. Also, parents who want to challenge the content of 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. We expect parents to use this right unless it is not reasonable for them to do so. The Tribunal can order councils to change EHC Plans; we cannot. It was therefore reasonable for Mrs X to use her right of appeal if she wanted to challenge the EHC Plan the Council issued.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. Our involvement would not achieve a different outcome, and it was reasonable for Mrs X to appeal to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman