Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to issue an amended Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan for her son (Y), within statutory timescales following an annual review. We found, the Council delayed issuing Y’s final amended EHC Plan and its communication with Mrs X was also poor. The Council has already acknowledged fault but failed to remedy the injustice caused to Mrs X and Y. Mrs X suffered distress and uncertainty and Y also missed some provision. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to remedy this injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council delayed the annual review process of her son’s (Y’s) Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. Mrs X also complains the Council failed to respond to multiple email including requests for decision letters, complaints procedure and confirmation of a panel outcome.
2. Mrs X said the Council’s failings delayed appropriate support for Y, left the family without essential information and caused significant stress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)
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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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated matters in this case from March 2025, when an annual review of Y’s EHC Plan took place to, September 2025 when Mrs X brought her complaint to us. I have referenced the date the final amended EHC Plan was issued to give context to the injustice caused to Mrs X and Y.
7. Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to provide information she requested when she made a subject access request. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate complaints regarding data and information sharing. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was set up to consider complaints regarding these matters. It would therefore be reasonable for Mrs X to refer this part of her complaint to the ICO.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered all comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and Guidance

EHC Plan 

10. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the Tribunal or the council can do this. 

Reviewing EHC Plans

11. The council must arrange for the EHC Plan to be reviewed at least once a year to make sure it is up to date. The council must complete the review within 12 months of the first EHC Plan and within 12 months of any later reviews. The annual review begins with consulting the child’s parents or the young person and the educational placement. A review meeting must then take place. The process is only complete when the council issues its decision to amend, maintain or cease to maintain the EHC Plan. This must happen within four weeks of the meeting. (Section 20(10) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.176) 
12. If the council decides not to amend an EHC Plan or decides to cease to maintain it, it must inform the child’s parents or the young person of their right to appeal the decision to the tribunal.
13. Where the council proposes to amend an EHC Plan, the law says it must send the child’s parent or the young person a copy of the existing (non-amended) Plan and an accompanying notice providing details of the proposed amendments, including copies of any evidence to support the proposed changes. (Section 22(2) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.194). Case law sets out this should happen within four weeks of the date of the review meeting. Case law also found councils must issue the final amended EHC Plan within a further eight weeks.

What happened – summary of key events

14. Mrs X has a child (Y) who has special educational needs. An EHC Plan is in place for Y.
15. In late March 2025 Y’s school carried out an annual review of his EHC Plan.
16. On 21 May the Council received the annual review documents from the school requesting amendments to the EHC Plan.
17. Two weeks later Mrs X contacted the Council and requested a copy of the Council’s decision letter following the annual review. Mrs X did not receive a response.
18. On 25 June Mrs X chased the Council for a copy of the decision letter. Mrs X did not receive a response.
19. The school informed Mrs X that a panel hearing for Y’s case had been scheduled for 13 August. Later, the Council also contacted Mrs X and confirmed the date of the hearing.
20. On 16 July Mrs X sent an email to the Council requesting the panel consider a specialist placement for Y. A day before the hearing, Mrs X asked the Council to confirm it had received her request for a specialist placement for Y. Mrs X also requested a copy of the Council’s complaints procedure. Mrs X did not receive a response.
21. Mrs X complained to the Council about the way it handled the annual review and lack of response to her emails over several months.
22. On 21 August the Council sent Mrs X a decision letter stating it agreed to make changes to Y’s Plan. It also sent a copy of a new draft amended EHC Plan.
23. On 3 September the Council communicated the panels’ decision to Mrs X and Y’s school that Y’s needs could be met in a mainstream school with additional resources to allow the school to provide a higher level of support.
24. On 16 September the Council responded to the complaint. The Council accepted it had not issued the decision letter and draft amended EHC Plan within statutory timescales. It acknowledged its communication had been poor and it had not responded to Mrs X’s questions or provided updates. The Council explained it had experienced high levels of staff sickness which had affected its turnover of work. The Council apologised to Mrs X. It said it was working on improving the way it managed its workload during staff sickness and absence to ensure children and families were least impacted. The Council explained it had already taken action to improve communication.
25. Mrs X remained unsatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman.
26. On 2 October the Council issued a final amended EHC Plan for Y.

Analysis

27. We encourage councils to deal with complaints and provide remedies in line with our guidance.
28. We will not generally reinvestigate complaints if we consider the Council has carried out a satisfactory investigation and where it has made an appropriate remedy. I consider the Council has responded to the two main complaints made by Mrs X about the delay in the annual review process and poor communication and that it is not appropriate for us to reinvestigate the substantive matters. The Council upheld Mrs X's complaints but there is no evidence it considered a suitable remedy for the injustice caused by the faults.
29. I note the Council did not receive the review paperwork from the school until mid-May 2025. However, the duty to ensure the review is completed within statutory timescales remains with the Council.
30. The Council must issue its notice of amendment within four weeks of the annual review meeting. The meeting was held on 28 March 2025. The Council should have issued Y’s notice of amendment by 28 April 2025. The Council did not issue it until mid-August 2025. This delay is fault.
31. The Council must issue a final amended EHC Plan within 12 weeks of the annual review meeting. The Council should have issued Y’s final amended EHC Plan by 20 June 2025. Instead, the Plan was issued on 2 October, a delay of 15 weeks. This is fault and has caused Mrs X distress and frustration.
32. The final Plan includes additional SEN provision in section F which Y would have received had the plan been issued on time. This includes additional 1:1 support daily, during English and maths lessons as part of a small group and 1:1 support from a key adult to ensure Y remains safe. The period of missed provision is from 20 June 2025 to October 2025 and equates to eight weeks as this accounts for school holidays.
33. The Council acknowledged delays and gaps in communication in its complaint response. There is evidence of Mrs X often chasing the Council for responses and emails were not responded to. This is fault. Mrs X was already under significant pressure due to delay in the annual review process and its poor communication caused additional frustration and distress.
34. I have considered whether to recommend any service improvements to prevent future injustice to others caused by delays in the annual review process. I have decided not to because we have recently recommended relevant service improvements following a similar complaint. The Council has already explained the steps it has taken to improve its communication with parents and families, so I do not recommend any further action.

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Action

35. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Mrs X by the fault I have identified, the Council will take the following actions within four weeks of my final decision:
1. apologise to Mrs X for the missed provision between June and October 2025.
2. a symbolic payment of £600 to acknowledge Y’s loss of SEN provision included in the new EHC Plan between late June and October 2025.
3. a symbolic payment of £100 to acknowledge the additional distress and uncertainty Mrs X experienced as a result of the Council’s poor communication.
36. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

37. I find fault causing injustice to Mrs X and Y and the Council has agreed to remedy the injustice. I have completed my investigation on this basis.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman