The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment. This is because investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council failed to meet statutory deadlines in relation to her child, Y’s, Education Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA). She says this caused stress, anxiety and uncertainty for both her and Y.
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 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
The Council has apologised for its failure to meet the statutory timescales for completing Y’s (EHCNA). In recognition of the delay, the Council offered Mrs X a payment of £100 for each month the process exceeded the statutory deadline, a total of £700. This is in line with what the Ombudsman would seek to achieve in the circumstances of the case, so it is unlikely that investigation by the Ombudsman would lead to a significantly different outcome. Therefore, investigation is not warranted.
Mrs X further complains the Council did not meet complaint handling deadlines. We will not usually investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely that an investigation would achieve a significantly different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman