Central Bedfordshire Council (24 011 337)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Dec 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged withholding of Mr X’s rights to a full mediation after it issued an Education Health and Care Plan for Miss X. The existence of a right of appeal to the Special Needs and Disability Tribunal to resolve the dispute about the appropriate provision for Miss X means Mr X has an alternative remedy available it would be reasonable to use.
The complaint
- Mr X complained on behalf of his daughter, Miss X. He said the Council refused to conduct a full mediation after it issued a final Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan for her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I understand Mr X’s contention that the Council has a duty to arrange mediation in accordance with s.54 of the Children and Families Act 2014. However, the issue underlying this complaint is a fundamental disagreement between Mr X and the Council about the nature of Miss X SEN and the provision required to meet those needs. The only way to resolve that where the Council does not continue with mediation is by way of an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. While Mr X understandably seeks to resolve matters on Miss X’s behalf without recourse to the Tribunal, he nonetheless has a right of appeal it would be reasonable to use.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is an available right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal it would be reasonable to use.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman