The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse to name a new educational setting in her children’s Education, Health, and Care plans. This is because the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate as she has used her right of appeal.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision to refuse to name a new educational setting in her children’s Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plans. She also complains about poor communication and delays in the Tribunal process.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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
Mrs X said the Council refused to accept any changes to her children’s EHC plan following the last annual review, including refusing to change the named school placement. Mrs X appealed to the SEND Tribunal in December 2023.
Mrs X complains about delays in the SEND Tribunal process due to the Council asking the Tribunal for an extension to all deadlines due to no offer being made by any alternative setting. However, Mrs X said a suitable alternative education provider had offered her children a place for May 2024.
The main points of Mrs X’s complaints are related to the Council’s refusal to name an alternative educational placement in her children’s EHC plans. Mrs X has a right to appeal this decision and has used her right of appeal. Therefore, we cannot investigate this complaint.
I acknowledge the children are currently not attending school or receiving any education. However, the lack of education is a consequence of the dispute around the named educational placement. As this injustice is linked to the matter the SEND Tribunal will consider, the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate the matter.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate as she has used her right of appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman