The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the contents of an Education Health and Care Plan for Mr X’s child. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to use his right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
The complaint
Mr X complains about inaccurate information contained in his child’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. Mr X says the information has led to his preferred school refusing his child a place.
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
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because it is reasonable for him to appeal to the SEND Tribunal if he disagrees with the content of the Council’s final EHC Plan. Only the SEND Tribunal can order the Council to make changes to the contents of the Plan.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to use his right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman