The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to arrange assessments which resulted in a delay in issuing an Education Health and Care plan that could meet a child’s needs. This is because it is reasonable to have expected the complainant to have used their right of appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
Mr X complains that the Council delayed obtaining assessments which resulted in a delay issuing an adequate Education Health and Care (EHC) plan for his child.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council carried out a review of Mr X’s child’s EHC plan in May 2023 and issued a final amended plan in September. Mr X says the EHC plan was inadequate as assessments that were necessary to identify the needs of his child were not carried out. A further review was carried out in December and a further amended final EHC plan issued.
Mr X feels the Council should have obtained the assessments prior sooner and because it didn’t the EHC plan issued in September was inadequate and named a school that could not meet his child’s needs.
Mr X had a right of appeal against the contents of the EHC plan to the SEND Tribunal. As part of an appeal, the SEND Tribunal can consider whether the Council needs to obtain further information and advice. It was reasonable for Mr X to use his right of appeal. For this reason, I will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to have appealed to the SEND Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman