Mrs A complained about the Council’s failure to provide IT support equipment to his disabled daughter in a timely manner. The need for the relevant equipment was recognized in March 2022. The equipment was received in January 2023.
While considering her complaint, the Ombudsman was concerned about the delay in provision of IT equipment to support her daughter’s education. She was also concerned about the Council’s handling of her complaint.
The Council agreed to undertake the following to settle her complaint, in lieu of a full investigation: to formally acknowledge and apologise to Mrs A, within 1 month, for the unacceptable delay and adverse effect caused; to offer Mrs A a payment of £500, within 1 month, to reflect the unacceptable delays in the provision of the IT equipment and for the time and trouble she spent; to provide evidence and explanation to the Ombudsman, within 2 months, of improvements to the ordering of IT equipment; to ensure that no other disabled child suffers significant delays as the Council orders IT assistive equipment (and if there are those who suffer such delays, to resolve those delays), within 2 months, and, finally, to consider providing training to officers from the relevant department regarding handling complaints (in accordance with the Council’s complaints process), within 2 months.