Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s assessment and consultation process before it issued an Education Health and Care Plan because Mr X appealed to the Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council failed to properly consult him before issuing an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) for his child, Y.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X which included the Council’s reply to his complaint.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council named School Z in Y’s EHC Plan in 2025. Mr X appealed to the Tribunal for it to change the named school. He later withdrew his appeal once it was clear School Z worked for Y.
6. Mr X says the Council failed to properly consult him before it issued the EHC Plan in February 2026. He is unhappy with the EHC Plan assessment process.
7. The courts have established that if someone has appealed to the Tribunal, the law says we cannot investigate any matter which was part of, was connected to, or could have been part of, the appeal to the Tribunal. (R (on application of Milburn) v Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman [2023] EWCA Civ 207)
8. We cannot investigate why the Council named School Z as Mr X appealed to the Tribunal.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he appealed to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman