Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to reimburse the cost of a speech and language assessment commissioned by the complainant. There is not enough evidence of fault on the Council’s part to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, says the Council should reimburse her for the speech and language (SALT) assessment she commissioned for her child, because the Council did not do so as part of her child’s Educational Health Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA). Ms X says she experienced financial hardship, and her child’s development was set back because they lost vital speech and language support and entered school without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Ms X commissioned a SALT assessment to inform her child’s EHCNA. The evidence shows that she did so before the Council received the request to assess her child. Ms X asked the Council to reimburse the cost she incurred in commissioning the assessment and complains that it has declined to do so.
6. Regulation 6(1) of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 (The SEND Regulations 2014) sets out what advice and information a local authority must seek as part of an EHCNA. Speech and language assessments are not specified. The Council was therefore not under any duty to commission, or pay for, a SALT assessment and explained this to Ms X in its responses to her complaint. This position is reasonable in the circumstances and the Ombudsman will not criticise it.
7. Regulation 13(2) of The SEND Regulations 2014 says that if, following completion of an EHCNA, the local authority decides to issue an EHC plan, it must send the finalised plan to the child’s parent within 20 weeks of the date the EHCNA was requested. The Council issued a final EHC plan for Ms X’s child before the deadline. This was after her child had started school. We will not investigate this part of Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman