Summary: Ms X says the Council failed to complete the remedy recommended by a previous Ombudsman investigation. In that it has failed to arrange the additional speech and language therapy sessions owed to her child. This has continued to impact her child. We found the Council at fault. It should apologise, provide a further payment to Ms X and arrange for the additional sessions to take place.

The complaint

1. Ms X says the Council has failed to complete the remedy recommended by a previous Ombudsman investigation. In that it has failed to arrange the additional speech and language therapy (SaLT) sessions owed to her child.
2. She says that this has caused her further distress by her child not receiving the additional support she is entitled to receive.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council, as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. We issued a final decision in September 2025 which asked the Council to complete within one month the following:
1. Provide a written apology to Ms X for the unnecessary and avoidable distress caused by the failure to provide full and consistent SaLT provision and communication. This apology should be in line with our guidance on making an effective apology
2. Pay £250 for the failure to provide some SaLT provision and for the distress this caused along with the communication inconsistency.
3. Confirm it will arrange an additional three SaLT sessions.
9. The Council has failed to provide us with evidence that it has completed remedy point C within the timeframe we had set out or the extended timeframe we allowed.
10. The Council informed us that it was in the process of arranging the SaLT provision however that this had been delayed by a third party. Ms X reported that she had not heard from the Council since it provided her with an apology.
11. While I accept the Council’s explanation of delay, it failed to complete the actions we asked within the timeframe we set. This is fault.
12. The failure to do so has impacted Ms X by causing her further distress through her child not receiving the support they are entitled to receive, and the understandable belief that this is further impacting their education and development.
13. I consider therefore the Council should provide a further apology and payment for the distress this issue has caused. It should also arrange for the missing SaLT sessions to take place.

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Action

14. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. Provide a written apology to Ms X for the unnecessary and avoidable distress caused by the failure to complete all the remedies from the previous Ombudsman complaint. This apology should be in line with our guidance on making an effective apology
2. Pay Ms X a further £100 for the distress caused by the failure to provide the SaLT provision from the previous Ombudsman investigation.
3. Arrange the three additional SaLT sessions.
15. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

16. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise, make payment and arrange for the additional SaLT provision to take place.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman