Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to cease to maintain the complainant’s Education Health and Care Plan. This is because it would have been reasonable for his representative to use the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains that the Council has failed to provide him with appropriate education and has unreasonably ceased to maintain his Education Health and Care (EHC) plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X is represented by his mother, Mrs X, Mrs X says the Council has failed to provide Mr X with appropriate education over a period of years and has failed to respond properly to complaints she has made during the period. She complains that the Council has unreasonably decided to cease to maintain Mr X’s EHC plan.,
8. Mrs X says complaints she has made on Mr X’s behalf in the past have not been considered under the Council’s complaints procedure and were not concluded. Without definitive responses under the Council’s complaints procedure, these matters would not fall to be investigated by the Ombudsman.
9. The only aspect of the complaint the Ombudsman can consider is the decision to cease the EHC plan. The correspondence shows that the Council set out the decision in August 2024 and advised Mrs X of her right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
10. Where a right of appeal exists, the Ombudsman normally expects it to be used. Mrs X’s recourse against the Council’s decision was to appeal to the SEND Tribunal and it would have been reasonable for her to do so. That being the case, the Ombudsman will not intervene.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would have been reasonable for his representative to use her right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman