The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delay in the Education, Health and Care needs assessment process. It is unlikely an investigation by us would achieve anything more.
The complaint
Mr X complains about delays in the Council’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan assessment process. He says the delays have caused distress. The Council has apologised for its poor communication and offered a financial remedy for the delay, but Mr X says this is insufficient to remedy the injustice caused.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 or continue an investigation if we decide: we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X requested an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for his child, Y, in July 2023. The Council issued Y with an EHC Plan in February 2024, 11 weeks outside of the 20-week statutory timescale.
In its complaint response to Mr X, the Council accepted it had delayed during the EHC needs assessment process and had not met the statutory timescales. It said the delay was caused by a shortage of Educational Psychologists (EP) which had caused delay completing the EP assessment, which was required as part of the process.
It apologised to Mr X for poor communication and offered him £200 in recognition of the delay finalising the plan and the distress this caused.
We will not investigate this complaint. We recognise there is a national shortage of EPs which is causing delays in EHC needs assessment for some councils. Where delay in the assessment process is caused by a lack of availability of EPs, our guidance recommends a financial remedy of £100 per month to recognise the frustration and distress caused by the delay. The Council’s offer of £200 is in line with this guidance so it is unlikely an investigation would achieve anything more.
Following recent investigations by us about this issue, this Council has provided us with a detailed recovery plan demonstrating the action it is taking to increase its availability of educational psychologists and reduce delays in its EHC needs assessment process. We are satisfied the Council is taking appropriate steps to address the problem. An investigation by us would achieve nothing more.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation by us would achieve nothing more.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman