Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Council responding to Mr X’s request for it to consult with an educational setting. The Council already apologised and acted to correct the error. An investigation is unlikely to achieve anything further.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about delays in the Council actioning his request for it to consult with an educational setting on his behalf.
2. Mr X said the matters caused anxiety and distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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
• 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

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

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My assessment

6. In July 2025 Mr X asked the Council to consult with an educational setting on his behalf. This was to ask if the setting could meet Mr X’s Special Educational Needs (SEN).
7. Mr X complained to the Council in August 2025 because the Council had not responded to or actioned his request.
8. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council accepted it had not actioned the request, upheld the complaint and apologised. It went on to action the request and consulted with the setting.
9. In its final complaint response in September 2025, the Council said it had received a positive response from the setting.

Analysis

10. The Council upheld the complaint, apologised and took corrective action by consulting with the educational setting. The Council completed these actions within approximately one month of Mr X’s complaint. These actions are in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies. Consequently, an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman