Advice on comparing statistics across years

In 2022-23 we changed our investigation processes, contributing towards an increase in the average uphold rate across all complaints. Consider comparing individual council uphold rates against the average rate rather than against previous years.

In 2020-21 we received and decided fewer complaints than normal because we stopped accepting new complaints for three months due to Covid-19.

Surrey County Council

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Annual statistics ?Find out more about annual statistics

  • Complaints upheld

    89% of complaints we investigated were upheld.

    This compares to an average of 85% in similar authorities.

    141 upheld decisions

    Adjusted for Surrey County Council's population, this is
    11.6 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents    .

    The average for authorities of this type is
    4.5 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.

    View upheld decisions

    Statistics are based on a total of 158 investigations for the period between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

  • Compliance with Ombudsman recommendations

    100% of cases we were satisfied the Council had successfully implemented our recommendations.

    This compares to an average of 100% in similar authorities.

    Statistics are based on a total of 133 compliance outcomes for the period between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

  • Satisfactory remedies provided by the Council

    In 3% of upheld cases we found the Council had provided a satisfactory remedy before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.

    This compares to an average of 7% in similar authorities.

    4 satisfactory remedy decisions

    Statistics are based on a total of 141 upheld decisions for the period between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

    View all satisfactory remedy decisions
View all decisions

Annual letters

We write to councils each year to give a summary of the complaint statistics we record about them,
and their performance in responding to our investigations.

View annual letters

Reports ?Find out more about reports

In the last nine years, the Ombudsman has published the following reports against Surrey County Council

The shortage of educational psychologists is having a significant impact on councils’ ability to set out the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said.

Surrey County Council has agreed to review how it arranges and monitors special educational needs support for children and young people in the county following a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation.

An elderly woman was left to die alone by Surrey care home staff while her daughter was waiting in a nearby room, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

A teenager who attends a special school missed the start of the school year because Surrey County Council did not tell his mum she needed to reapply for transport, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

Surrey County Council has been told to apologise again to the family of a boy with special educational needs because it failed to do what it promised to resolve problems highlighted in a previous Ombudsman complaint.

A Surrey family who struggled to cope with their disabled son’s behaviour were forced to begin legal action against the county council before it provided the right accommodation for him, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) have issued a joint report on an investigation into Surrey County Council and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust.

7

Reports for Surrey County Council

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Service improvements ?Find out more about service improvements

Since April 2018, the Council has agreed to make the following improvements to its services following an Ombudsman investigation. We list up to 10 cases below – click ‘view all’ if there are more.

Case reference: 24 004 159

Category: Adult care services

Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

  • Issue a reminder to all staff about the Council's recording policy and the need to respond to emails in a timely manner.

Case reference: 24 002 523

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • The Council will review its process for securing special educational provision, such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, which cannot be delivered within a mainstream school setting and ensure there is a system in place to secure provision and funding without delay.

Case reference: 24 000 853

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • The Council has agreed to carry out a lessons learned review to understand why there were such significant delays in finalising a child's Education Health and Care Plan, implementing the funding for their teaching assistant, and in consulting specialist school placements.
  • The Council has agreed, following its lessons learned review, to make an action plan setting out what steps will be taken to prevent these delays occurring for children and parents in future.

Case reference: 23 021 496

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • The Council has agreed to provide the Ombudsman with evidence of the service improvements it said it had made as a result of the experience the complainant had received.

Case reference: 23 021 144

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • Remind relevant staff of the importance of ensuring all specialist provision/therapy in Section F of Education, Health and Care Plans are secured and delivered to the child/young person to meet their special educational needs.
  • Remind relevant staff of the importance of providing people with updates about any outstanding Education, Health and Care Plan matters. The Council should communicate information effectively and in a timely manner to prevent complaints.

Case reference: 23 021 046

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • The Council will remind relevant staff that they do not need a parent's consent to consider and act on safeguarding concerns about a child or young person.

Case reference: 23 020 951

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • The Council agreed to remind officers they should ensure the correct right of appeal information is provided in decision letters following Panel decisions on Education, Health and Care Plans.

Case reference: 23 019 879

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • Provide training and guidance to staff about the importance of adhering to the statutory timescales in completing EHC Plan reviews and issuing the relevant notification letters as part of this process.
  • Provide training to staff about the importance of accurate record keeping. The Council should also remind its Occupational Therapist teams and Physiotherapist teams about the importance of keeping records of the lengths of visits where timescales are specified in the EHC Plan.

Case reference: 23 019 472

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • The Council has agreed to provide guidance to relevant staff regarding unofficial exclusions and off-site directions. It will include details of the actions they should take if they become aware that a school has unofficially excluded a pupil or is not following the guidance in relation to off-site directions.
  • The Council has agreed to remind members of the EHC Plan Governance Board to fully explain the reasons for its decisions.
  • The Council has agreed to provide guidance to staff on what they should do if none of the schools it consults will offer a child a place.
  • The Council has agreed to ensure reasons are provided when staff write to parents with the Council’s decision to not amend an EHC Plan, against the recommendation of the school.

Case reference: 23 019 324

Category: Education

Sub Category: Special educational needs

  • The Council will ensure consultations are sent to parental preference schools and decisions with reasons are issued to parents in a timely manner in accordance with the requirements in the Act.

10

Service improvements agreed by Surrey County Council

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Last updated: 4 April 2015

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