Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to finalise her daughter’s education, health and care (EHC) Plan within statutory timescales. The Council has acknowledged it is at fault for the delay, it has now issued the final EHC Plan and provided Mrs X with a suitable remedy for the injustice caused by the fault. There is nothing further the Ombudsman can achieve for Mrs X.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to issue her daughter, Y’s, Education, health and Care (EHC) Plan within statutory timescales and this had a detrimental impact on Y’s future.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered Mrs X’s complaint and information she provided.
6. I considered the information I received from the Council in response to my enquiries.
7. Mrs X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I did not receive any comments to consider before making this final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Education health and care (EHC) Plans

8. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the tribunal or the council can do this. 
9. The council must arrange for the EHC Plan to be reviewed at least once a year to make sure it is up to date. The council must complete the review within 12 months of the first EHC Plan and within 12 months of any later reviews. The annual review begins with consulting the child’s parents or the young person and the educational placement. A review meeting must take place. The process is only complete when the council issues a decision about the review.
10. Within four weeks of a review meeting, the council must notify the child’s parent of its decision to maintain, amend or discontinue the EHC Plan. Once the decision is issued, the review is complete. (Section 20(10) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.176) 
11. If the council decides not to amend an EHC Plan or decides to cease to maintain it, it must inform the child’s parents or the young person of their right to appeal the decision to the tribunal.
12. Where the council proposes to amend an EHC Plan, the law says it must send the child’s parent or the young person a copy of the existing (non-amended) Plan and an accompanying notice providing details of the proposed amendments, including copies of any evidence to support the proposed changes. (Section 22(2) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.194). Case law sets out this should happen within four weeks of the date of the review meeting. The Council must then issue any final amended Plan within 8 weeks of this ‘Amendment Notice’.

What happened

13. Y has special educational needs and has an education, health and care (EHC) Plan maintained by the Council.
14. In August 2023 the Council received a request for a needs assessment of Y.
15. In November 2023, an annual review of Y’s EHC Plan was held.
16. A draft EHC Plan was sent to Mrs X in December 2023. Mrs X responded to this draft and highlighted that it did not include provision to help prepare Y for adulthood and independent living.
17. In February 2024, Mrs X complained to the Council that the EHC Plan process should have taken 20 weeks but it was currently at 24 weeks. Mrs X said a transition to adulthood assessment was required by Social Services but the Council had not responded to this request.
18. The Council told Mrs X it would respond to her complaint on or before 21 March 2024.
19. On 21 and 25 March 2024, Mrs X chased the Council for a response to her complaint because the four-week timeframe had lapsed and she had not received a response.
20. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint on 28 March 2024.
21. On 10 April 2024 Mrs X requested her complaint be escalated because she was unhappy with the Council’s response.
22. The Council sent its final complaint response to Mrs X on 9 May 2024.
23. Mrs X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman on 2 July 2024 because she had not received the final EHC Plan.
24. Y’s EHC Plan was finalised and issued on 19 July 2024.

Back to top

Analysis

25. The Council should have finalised Y’s EHC Plan by, at the very latest, 16 February 2024. At the time Mrs X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman, the Council had not finalised Y’s EHC Plan. The Council finalised Y’s EHC plan five months later than it should have. The Council has acknowledged that this delay was fault.
26. The Council acknowledged the avoidable distress caused to Mrs X and the time and trouble she went to in resolving matters. I consider the Council’s payment of £1000 falls in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies and there is nothing further we can achieve for Mrs X.
27. As a result of previous investigations by the Ombudsman, the Council has made, and is in the process of making, improvements to how it deals with complaints and also how it processes EHC Plans. To avoid duplication, no further service improvements have been recommended.

Back to top

Final decision

28. The Council has acknowledged it was at fault and has provided Mrs X with a suitable remedy. Therefore, our investigation is complete and this complaint is closed.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman