The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about delay in the Council arranging extra funding for her son. This is because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and because the delay did not cause any significant injustice.
The complaint
Miss X complains about poor service as she says the Council delayed in arranging the extra funding requested for her son before he started in Year 5 in September 2022.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide: any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X’s son, A. has an EHC plan. His school asked the Council for extra funding during his annual review in April 2022. The school asked for the funding to be available for A for when he started in Year 5, in September 2022.
The Council accepted there was some delay in approving the additional funding following the school’s request. However, in July 2022, the Council confirmed it had approved the extra funding and that A’s school would receive it from September 2022.
Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome as the Council has already approved and arranged for the school to receive the additional funding. In addition, the delay did not cause A any significant injustice as the funding was agreed before he returned to school in September 2022. This meant he did not lose out on any support or provision.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. In addition, the accepted delay did not cause any significant injustice to the child.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman