London Borough of Havering (26 005 087)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X complaint about education provision as it cannot be separated from a Tribunal appeal.
The complaint
- Mrs X says her child, Z, has not been provided with the educational support they need.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In February 2025 the Council issued a final Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) naming School Y. Mrs X says School Y is not providing the education support she believes Z needs. Mrs X has appealed the EHC Plan wording to the Tribunal specifically around the disputed support’s description.
- 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)
- This means that if a child or young person is not receiving support the parent believes they need, which is linked to the parents’ disagreement about the special educational provision in the EHC Plan, we cannot investigate a lack of special educational provision.
- The period we cannot investigate starts from the date the appealable decision is made and given to the parents. If the parent goes on to appeal then the period we cannot investigate ends when the Tribunal comes to its decision, or if the appeal is withdrawn or conceded.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is not separable from her Tribunal appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman