Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to ensure the delivery of provision set out in the complainant’s son’s Education Health and Care plan. This is because the complaint has already been upheld and our intervention would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms X, complains that the Council has failed to ensure the delivery of therapeutic provision set out in her son’s Education Health and Care (EHC) plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• we would not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X’s son has an EHC plan. Ms X says the EHC plan sets out several therapies which she says were not delivered between September 2023 and March 2024. She says her son’s education and health have suffered as a result. She wants the Council to compensate her for the missed therapies so she can source them privately.
6. Ms X complained to the Council. The Council upheld her complaint and has offered to pay her more than £14000 in respect of the missed education and therapies.
7. Where a complaint has been upheld before the matter comes to the Ombudsman we will not normally intervene. It is not a good use of public money to do so. The question for us in these circumstances is whether investigation would add anything significant to the investigation already carried out. There is nothing to suggest it would do so.
8. Given that Ms X’s complaint has been upheld we will not reinvestigate it. The financial settlement the Council has offered appears reasonable in the circumstances of the case. Our intervention would not lead to a different outcome and is not therefore warranted.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman