The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because she has appealed to the SEND Tribunal.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council did not name a suitable education setting in her child, Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (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’s child Y has an EHC Plan.
Mrs X complains the Council did not name a suitable education setting in her child, Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
Parents unhappy with the content of an EHC Plan, including the school named, have the right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal. We have no power to investigate complaints when someone has used their right of appeal to a tribunal about the same thing. Mrs X has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal so I cannot investigate her complaint.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint. She has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman