Manchester City Council (25 017 741)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her child. This is because Miss X had the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and it would be reasonable for her to do so.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council refused to carry out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for her child. She says Council officers did not properly apply the law when considering her child’s needs.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X asked the Council to carry out an EHC needs assessment for her child. The Council considered her request and decided not to carry out an assessment.
- Parents who are unhappy with a council’s decision not to carry out an EHC needs assessment have a right of appeal to the Tribunal. It is the mechanism set up by Parliament for parents to challenge such decisions
- If Miss X wanted to challenge the Council’s decision not to carry out an EHC needs assessment, it was reasonable for her to appeal to the Tribunal. This is because the Tribunal can order a council to carry out an EHC needs assessment.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because Miss X had the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and it would be reasonable for her to do so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman