The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council assessed X’s child’s special educational needs. This is because the complaint is made late.
The complaint
X complains that the Council failed to properly carry out an Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for their child Z. X says the Council’s actions meant Z did not attend school for almost two years.
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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I will not investigate X’s complaint because it is made late. The issues raised by X happened more than twelve months ago and I see no good reason why X could not have complained sooner.
Final decision
We will not investigate X’s complaint because it is made late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman