Summary: We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her child. Miss Y has a right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal, and it is reasonable to expect her to use this right.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complains about the Council’s handling of her Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) request for her child, Z. She says the Council failed to carry out the statutory information gathering stage of the process; send her all documents relating to its decision; and, ignored parental evidence.
2. Miss Y complains about communications with Senior Officers when she complained about the handling of the EHCNA request and the Council’s complaint handling. She complains the Council failed to respond to her contact or reconsider its refusal decision.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.
6. 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
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

7. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
8. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

9. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
10. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

11. In September 2025, Miss Y asked the Council to carry out an EHCNA for Z.
12. In October, the Council sent Miss Y a letter confirming it had refused her request. It gave Miss Y reasons for its refusal. It provided clear information about her right to appeal its decision to the SEND Tribunal.
13. Miss Y complains the Council incorrectly refused to carry out an EHCNA for her child. She says the Council failed to properly consider her evidence. Also, Miss Y disputes the Council’s interpretation of the private assessment she provided and how it reached its refusal decision. She says the Council failed to properly apply the relevant legal test.
14. We will not investigate this complaint. Miss Y has a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal about the EHCNA refusal and it is reasonable to expect her to use this right. This is because it is ultimately for the Tribunal to decide whether the Council should carry out an EHCNA. Only the Tribunal can order a council to carry out an EHNCA. If Miss Y considers the Council failed to consider her evidence or it did not obtain key information, which led to an incorrect decision, she can raise these issues as part of the Tribunal process. The Tribunal has wide ranging powers and can order evidence as it considers necessary, as part of its proceedings.
15. Miss Y is unhappy with the Council’s response to her request for all internal Panel records, correspondence and decision templates used in her case. She is concerned about possible data protection breaches by the Council, including potentially sharing information about its refusal with an Educational Psychologist. We will not investigate this matter. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is better placed to consider this complaint. I consider it reasonable to expect Miss Y to refer this matter to the ICO.
16. So far as Miss Y complains her child did not receive appropriate support in school, we cannot investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot investigate what happens in schools.
17. It is not a good use of public resources to look at a council’s complaints handling or communication with a complainant alone when we are not considering the core issues. Any separable injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. Therefore, we will not investigate this as a standalone issue.

Back to top

Final decision

18. We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her child. Miss Y has a right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal and it is reasonable to expect her to use this right.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman