Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delays following mediation. This is because the Council remedied the injustice during its complaint process.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to adhere to timescales set by medication following the annual review for her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan).
2. Miss X also complained about years of missed provision for her son.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a @council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Council upheld Miss X’s complaint about failing to comply with the timescales set out in mediation. It said the caseworker made significant and repeated efforts to get the information needed but the delay was not down to the Council, however Miss X should have been kept updated.
8. Miss X’s son is electively home educated. The Council said the delays did not cause significant injustice.
9. Miss X also complained about “years of missed provison” for her son, but Miss X should have complained at the time and this was not specific to this complaint (see paragraph 4).
10. The Council offered £150 for the time and trouble of bringing the complaint in its stage two complaint response. This is in line with our Guidance on Remedies.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman