Service improvements

Essex County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027

Find out more about service improvements

When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Essex County Council as a CSV file.

  • Essex County Council (25 017 761)

    Category: Education Date: 12-Jul-2026

    Summary

    We found fault in the way the taxi service commissioned by the Council provided school transport to Mrs X’s children. We also found fault in the Council’s response to a safeguarding issue raised by Mrs X. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Mrs X‘s children as they found frequent changes to transport arrangements distressing. It also caused injustice to Mrs X as she had to drive her children to school herself which affected her work and wellbeing. The Council has agreed to apologise, reimburse the cost of her school journeys, discuss with Mrs X her children’s transport needs and make the symbolic payment to recognise Mrs X’s distress. The Council should also ensure drivers providing school transport from its commissioned taxi company 24x7 receive proper safeguarding training.

    Service improvements

    The Council will seek confirmation from the taxi company 24x7 that all drivers and personal assistants involved in children’s transport to educational placements have a required level of English competency and understand their safeguarding duties. The Council will provide us with the relevant evidence.

  • Essex County Council (25 017 144)

    Category: Education Date: 09-Jul-2026

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about post-16 travel arrangements for her son (Y) to the college named in his Education, Health and Care Plan. She also complained the Council failed to respond to her safeguarding concerns. We found fault with the Council for its failure to make suitable transport arrangements for Y and to respond to Mrs X’s safeguarding concerns. We also found fault with the Council’s complaint handling. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Y and Mrs X. The Council has agreed to apologise, reimburse any trips to the college completed by Y’s parents, respond to Mrs X’s safeguarding concerns and arrange a meeting with the taxi service to discuss Y’s transport needs. The Council has also agreed to consider our complaint handling guidance.

    Service improvements

    We publish the Complaint Handling Code which sets out best practice in how councils should deal with complaints. In this case, we found the Council at fault because its complaint response was generic and despite upholding this complaint failed to offer remedies. In order to prevent similar faults from happening in future, the Council should consider our guidance and tell us what action(s) it will take to improve the way it deals with complaints.

  • Essex County Council (25 013 424)

    Category: Education Date: 09-Jun-2026

    Summary

    We find the Council failed to ensure that Miss X’s child, Y, received the occupational therapy provision set out in their Education, Health and Care Plan following a Tribunal decision. As a result, Y was without this provision for a significant period. This also caused Miss X distress, frustration and uncertainty. The Council will apologise, make a financial payment to Miss X to recognise the loss of provision, reconsider Miss X’s personal budget request and issue a clear written decision on that request. It should also remind staff of the requirement to provide written decisions on personal budget requests.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its arrangements for securing occupational therapy provision for children with EHC Plans and, in light of its stated expectation that the current shortage will be resolved by Spring 2026, provide an update on whether this has been achieved, If the shortage has not been resolved, the Council should set out an action plan detailing how it will address the ongoing shortage.

  • Essex County Council (25 007 284)

    Category: Education Date: 20-Apr-2026

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for failing to give Mrs X the information she needed to make an informed choice about whether to commission a private educational psychologist assessment for her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan assessment. This meant Mrs X paid for the assessment unnecessarily. The Council will reimburse Mrs X the cost of the assessment and take action to prevent similar fault in future.

    Service improvements

    The Council will add information on its website about its approach to parents commissioning private educational psychologist advice for their child's Education, Health and Care assessment. The Council will also add that information to the letters it sends to parents when it decides it will assess a child for an Education, Health and Care Plan.The Council will prepare a policy or guidance for staff which sets out its approach to private educational psychologist advice for Education Health and Care assessments. The policy will include that the Council can choose to act outside of its policy and reimburse a parent for the cost of that advice in exceptional circumstances. It will also include examples of some of the exceptional circumstances which might justify reimbursement.

  • Essex County Council (25 006 388)

    Category: Education Date: 10-May-2026

    Summary

    We have found the Council at fault for its poor communication in response to Ms X’s request for Education Other Than At School for her son, Y. The Council also failed to consider it Section 19 duty when Y stopped attending school. This fault caused Ms X and Y avoidable distress and caused Y to miss out on alternative provision. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy this injustice.

    Service improvements

    Share details with us of its new approach to the consideration of its Section 19 duty and how this will prevent alternative provision being missed in the future.

  • Essex County Council (25 005 252)

    Category: Education Date: 01-Apr-2026

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the way the Council carried out the Education Health and Care Plan process for her daughter (Y). She also complained about the Council’s delays in arranging education and special educational provision for Y and the Council’s actions in response to her Personal budget request. We found fault with the Council for the delay in arranging special educational provision for Y, as well as for the delays and failings with the Annual Review and the Personal budget process. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Y and Mrs X. The Council has agreed to apologise and make payments to Mrs X to recognise her and Y’s injustice. The Council has also agreed to review its record keeping.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review the way it keeps records for children with Educational, Health and Care Plans. The Council should ensure that all key correspondence is properly filed and available.

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