The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We have upheld Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s delay in providing the provision and support listed in her child’s Education, Health and Care plan. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council delayed providing the provision and support listed in her child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. In that it failed to provide a AV1 Robot listed within the EHC plan until she made a complaint about this.
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’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
If we investigated this complaint, it is likely that we would find the Council at fault. The Council has admitted that there was a delay in it providing the AV1 Robot listed within the EHC plan from November 2024 to February 2025. The delay in doing so, would have caused Mrs X distress in the form of uncertainty.
We therefore invited the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by taking the following actions within one month of the date of this decision: Provide Mrs X with an apology.
Pay Mrs X £300 for the distress due to the delay in providing the provision listed within the EHC plan.
To its credit, the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within one month of our final decision.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman