The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about what education the Council should provide to Y. The Tribunal is considering this.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall call Ms X, says the Council is failing to provide a suitable education to her child, Y.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X says she moved into this Council’s area in April 2022. She says her child, Y, had an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) produced by her previous Council area. She says Y is not receiving the full provision set out in the EHC Plan. She says the Council has failed to properly reply to her complaints.
The Council say that Ms X has appealed to the Tribunal SEND. It says it has put her complaint on hold until the Tribunal ends.
Analysis We cannot investigate the same issues the Tribunal is considering. What support and education Y should receive is currently for the Tribunal to decide. This means we cannot investigate issues which are part of this.
We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decision to hold Ms X’s complaint until the Tribunal has finished.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the Tribunal is currently considering Y’s education provision.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman