Surrey County Council
Annual statistics ?Find out more about annual statistics
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Complaints upheld
84% Complaints upheld by Surrey County Council
84% of complaints we investigated were upheld.
This compares to an average of 80% in similar authorities.
68 upheld decisions
View upheld decisionsAdjusted for Surrey County Council's population, this is
5.6 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.The average for authorities of this type is
3.4 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.Statistics are based on a total of 81 detailed investigations for the period between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023
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Compliance with Ombudsman recommendations
100% of cases were successfully implemented by Surrey County Council
100% of cases we were satisfied the Council had successfully implemented our recommendations.
This compares to an average of 100% in similar authorities.
Statistics are based on a total of 58 compliance outcomes for the period between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023
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Satisfactory remedies provided by the Council
9% Complaints with satisfactory remedy provided by Surrey County Council
In 9% of upheld cases we found the Council had provided a satisfactory remedy before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.
This compares to an average of 6% in similar authorities.
6 satisfactory remedy decisions
Statistics are based on a total of 68 detailed investigations for the period between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023
View all satisfactory remedy decisions
Annual letters
We write to councils each year to give a summary of the complaint statistics we record about them,
and their performance in responding to our investigations.
Public reports ?Find out more about public reports
In the last nine years, the Ombudsman has published the following public interest reports against Surrey County Council
National specialist shortage having profound impact on children with SEND and their families
The shortage of educational psychologists is having a significant impact on councils’ ability to set out the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said.
Surrey to apologise to family for not providing boy with proper education
Surrey County Council has agreed to review how it arranges and monitors special educational needs support for children and young people in the county following a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation.
Woman left to die alone in Surrey care home
An elderly woman was left to die alone by Surrey care home staff while her daughter was waiting in a nearby room, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Teenager with autism misses start of term when council cancels transport
A teenager who attends a special school missed the start of the school year because Surrey County Council did not tell his mum she needed to reapply for transport, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
Surrey County Council twice failed to resolve issues for boy with special needs
Surrey County Council has been told to apologise again to the family of a boy with special educational needs because it failed to do what it promised to resolve problems highlighted in a previous Ombudsman complaint.
Family left without support for severely autistic young son by Surrey County Council
A Surrey family who struggled to cope with their disabled son’s behaviour were forced to begin legal action against the county council before it provided the right accommodation for him, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) have issued a joint report on an investigation into Surrey County Council and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust.
Service improvements ?Find out more about service improvements
Since April 2018, the Council has agreed to make the following improvements to its services following an Ombudsman investigation. We list up to 10 cases below – click ‘view all’ if there are more.
Case reference: 23 009 989
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will review its commissioning arrangements to ensure it has suitable suppliers of alternative provision for children not in school and to establish if the current offer is sufficiently broad to meet need.
Case reference: 23 007 968
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will advise all staff involved in the Education Health and Care needs assessment process and who deal with Special Educational Need complaints, that where it overturns its decision not to assess for an Education, Health and Care Plan without further evidence and prior to mediation, the original timescales from the date of request will still apply.
Case reference: 23 007 333
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council has agreed to share a copy of this decision with relevant staff to identify learning fromthis complaint.
- The Council has agreed to share a copy of the decision and the learning outcomes with the relevantscrutiny committee or cabinet member.
- The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff of the Council’s policy on children missing education andthat children with EHC plans where all the provision is not in place should bekept under review to ensure cases do not drift.
Case reference: 23 006 680
Category: Education
Sub Category: Alternative provision
- Carry out a review of the alternative education services commissioned by the Council to ensure there is adequate capacity to meet demand.
Case reference: 23 006 177
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council has agreed to carry out a review of the reasons it did not take action after a Consent Order and whether there are any learning points from that review.
Case reference: 23 006 172
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council agreed to report to us on the progress of the full review of its SEN services to ensure it is able to meet all the statutory obligations. This would include a period of action planning and change management. It expects the completed review process to be delivered for September 2024. Additionally the Council will update us about its extensive recovery programme to resolve any out-of-date activities within the statutory SEN service
- the Council agreed to provide a report to a relevant overview and scrutiny committee about the timeliness of EHC plan assessment progress with the Council’s action plan, and what further steps need to be taken to ensure assessments are completed, final EHC plans issued within statutory timescales and alternative provision put in place when required by law.
Case reference: 23 006 171
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council agreed to report to us on the progress of the full review of its SEN services to ensure it is able to meet all the statutory obligations. This would include a period of action planning and change management. It expects the completed review process to be delivered for September 2024. Additionally the Council will update us about its extensive recovery programme to resolve any out-of-date activities within the statutory SEN service
- the Council agreed to provide a report to a relevant overview and scrutiny committee about the timeliness of EHC plan assessment progress with the Council’s action plan, and what further steps need to be taken to ensure assessments are completed, final EHC plans issued within statutory timescales and alternative provision put in place when required by law.
Case reference: 23 006 091
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will create a handover template to use where a new case worker is assigned to a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan's case. The template will capture a summary of the case including relevant dates, decision and agreed next actions. The template will ensure a clear and comprehensive handover to avoid drift and delay. The completed handover template will be discussed during the Council’s handover meeting with a senior case manager and documented on the running case record for each handover.
- The Council will remind staff responsible for identifying school placements for children with Education, Health and Care Plans to make timely and accurate consultations to schools and to provide the most up to date information for the child.
Case reference: 23 005 853
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Charging
- The Council will remind relevant staff of the importance of giving full information about paying for the costs of care, including information about how a person's contribution to those costs will be calculated, and about personal budgets and what happens if a person chooses a care home or care package that exceeds this.
- The Council will remind relevant staff of the importance of ensuring that bests interests decision are kept under review.
- The Council will remind relevant staff of the importance of not setting arbitrary limits on the amount it will pay for a person's care and ensuring that in reaching decisions on any potential changes to their care, such as moving them to a care home or a cheaper care home, it assesses the likely impact of the proposed change on the person's wellbeing.
Case reference: 23 005 178
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will share with the Ombudsman its review of its record keeping procedures. This was to ensure it progresses cases where children and young people are unable to engage with their education without delay, and communicates its outcomes with parents.
- The Council will remind its special educational needs and disability staff of the Council’s duty to ensure it reviews Education, Health, and Care plan at least every 12 months and issues its decisions to cease, maintain, or amend such plans within the statutory timescales.
Last updated: 4 April 2015