Cheshire East Council (23 017 625)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Mar 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council failing to amend an Education Health and Care Plan following the Tribunal’s decision. There are no good reasons the late complaint rule should not apply.
The complaint
- Mrs X says the Council failed to amend an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) following a Tribunal decision.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 Mrs X which includes the Council’s replies.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X’s child, Y has an EHC Plan. She appealed the EHC Plan wording to the Tribunal in 2022. The Tribunal decided to amend the EHC Plan in September 2022. The Council issued a final amended EHC Plan in January 2023. Mrs X says this did not match the Tribunal’s decision. She complained to the Council in January 2023.
- In late 2023, the Council said it would amend the EHC Plan following the annual review due in early 2024. Mrs X complained to us at the beginning of February 2024.
Analysis
- We cannot investigate a complaint about events known to Mrs X for more than 12 months without good reasons. Mrs X knew the EHC Plan had not been amended correctly more than 12 months before she complained to us. There are no good reasons the late complaint rule should not apply because:
- She has provided no evidence that she continued her complaint consistently during 2023.
- Our investigation is unlikely to achieve more than the Council’s proposal the EHC Plan is amended at the imminent annual review, when the Council would have to either confirm or amend the EHC Plan in any event.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there are no good reasons why the late complaint rule should not apply.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman