Bristol City Council (26 010 024)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in completing Miss X’s son’s Education, Health and Care Plan annual review. This is because the Council has offered Miss X £400 and this provides a suitable remedy for the injustice caused by the delay.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council took too long to complete the annual review of her son’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. She says the four-month delay affected her right of appeal against its decision not to amend the Plan and caused distress, uncertainty and frustration. She says she also spent time and trouble chasing the Council for updates and complaining.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council accepts it delayed in completing Miss X’s son’s annual review and has offered Miss X £400. The amount is broadly consistent with the remedies we have recommended in other similar cases and our Guidance on Remedies.
- I appreciate Miss X does not consider the Council’s offer is sufficient but I am satisfied it provides a suitable remedy for the impact of the Council’s delay. I will not therefore investigate the matter further.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has provided a suitable remedy for the delay in completing Miss X’s son’s EHC Plan annual review and it is therefore unlikely investigation will achieve significantly more for Miss X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman