Derbyshire County Council (24 015 704)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed considering a request for an Education Health and Care needs assessment for Mrs X’s child. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by apologising and offering to make a suitable payment to Mrs X to remedy the injustice this caused.
The complaint
- Mr Z complains on behalf of Mrs X about a delay in considering a request made for an Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for Mrs X’s daughter.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
- Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr Z made a request on behalf of Mrs X for the Council to carry out an an EHC needs assessment for Mrs X’s daughter. The Council said told Mr Z that it wasn’t accepting requests by email, so the application wasn’t processed. The Council received a further application two months later which it did process.
- If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely that we would find fault. This is because the Council accepted that it should have accepted the EHC needs assessment application by email. However, its failure to do so meant a delay in the assessment starting causing Mrs X distress in the form of frustration, but the Council hasn’t provided a remedy to Mrs X for this injustice.
- I therefore invited the Council to write to Mrs X within one month to apologise for the delay in considering the EHC needs assessment application and to offer her a payment of £100 for the distress this caused her. To its credit, the Council agreed.
Final decision
- We have upheld Mrs X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the matter by providing a suitable remedy.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman