LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: Ms X complains about the handling of child protection issues relating to her children. The Council took longer than it should to complete stages two and three of the statutory complaint process in Ms X’s case. There is no evidence of fault in its overall handling of child protection matters relating to Ms X’s children. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X for the injustice caused by the complaint handling delay.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a safeguarding referral in respect of the complainant’s child. The complaint has already been substantially upheld and our intervention would achieve nothing further.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Councils School Admission Independent Appeal Panels handling of an appeal to offer her child a place at her preferred school.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the actions of social workers and a local safeguarding process. The matters complained of are closely linked to a court process and either were or could reasonably have been raised in court. A permanent legal bar prevents us investigating them.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the alleged failure of the Council to assess and meet Mrs X’s child’s needs over a period of 15 years. There is a good reason to exercise discretion to consider late matters. But there are several reasons why investigation of these matters is unlikely to lead to any worthwhile outcome.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a lack of education. It is unlikely we could achieve significantly more than the Council has already offered.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to find a suitable educational placement for her son. Miss X had a right to appeal this decision, and it would have been reasonable for her to use it. Nor will we investigate Miss X’s complaint the Council did not secure the provision named in her son’s Education, Health, and Care Plan, because we are satisfied the Council have already remedied any remaining injustice here.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because we are satisfied with the actions taken by the Council and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

Summary: Miss X complained that the Council failed to ensure her children received a suitable education. The Council recognised fault and offered a remedy in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies. We have ended our investigation as we would be unlikely to reach a different outcome.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to remove a disabled parking bay from outside the complainant’s home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: Miss F complained the Council failed to provide her son with suitable education and the support set out in his EHC plan. We have ended our investigation. This is because Miss F could have used her right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal, which puts it out of our jurisdiction.

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed issuing an Education, Health and Care Plan for her daughter. She also complained the Council did not provide adequate provision while it reviewed the plan, delayed paying invoices and delayed providing a personal budget. Mrs X says the Council’s actions caused avoidable distress and prevented her daughter from accessing education. We found fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to provide an apology and a financial remedy, and to provide evidence of the steps it is taking to improve its service.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a right of way because it is late without good reason to exercise discretion to investigate it now.

Summary: Ms X complains the Council failed to respond to her request for an education, health and care needs assessment for her child, Y, it failed to provide Y with a full-time education when she was unable to attend school and it failed to respond to her concerns. The Council acknowledges it was at fault and it has adequately remedied the injustice caused and made service improvements. There is nothing further the Ombudsman can add.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a damage claim as ultimately this is a matter for the courts.

Summary: We upheld Mrs X’s complaints about delays in the review of her child, Y’s, Education, Health and Care Plan and about the Council’s poor communication. The Council accepted fault and offered a suitable remedy during its complaints process. The Ombudsman also made recent service improvement recommendations in other investigations for similar cases. Therefore, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to adopt her road, that it has not reconsidered its decision and been unhelpful, unsupportive and misleading. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s road adoption decision-making process to warrant us investigating. There is insufficient evidence of the Council causing Miss X injustice to justify an investigation. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable for her from investigating the Council’s approach during the matter. We also cannot achieve the outcome she seeks.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not secure the provision in his son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. We have found the Council at fault and it has agreed to remedy the injustice caused.

Summary: MX complained about the Council’s response to complaints about care provided to their mother.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s actions relating to a review of her child, Y’s, Education, Health and Care Plan. Some of the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation. For the other elements of Mrs X’s complaint further investigation is unlikely to achieve a different outcome.

Summary: Mrs C complained the Council delayed dealing with her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan when she moved to its area. We find the Council was at fault for its delays in dealing with Mrs C’s son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council largely remedied Mrs C’s and her son’s injustice when it responded to her complaint. It has agreed to our further recommendation to reflect Mrs C’s son’s missed education and provision for one month.

Summary: Ms N complained about the time taken by the Council to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan for her son. She also said the Council failed to ensure X received suitable education when he could not attend his school. We found fault in the Council’s actions which caused injustice to X and Ms N. The Council has agreed to make a symbolic payment to her and review its processes.

Summary: Miss X complains about missed education, and the Council’s actions in failing to find a suitable full-time placement for Y. We have concluded our investigation having made a finding of fault. The Council failed to ensure Y received a full-time education from May 2022 – April 2024. Further, we found fault for a period of inaction in sourcing a placement for Y between March 2023 – May 2023. As Miss X has appealed to the Tribunal, any further complaint regarding the Council’s actions in sourcing a placement for Y are out of our jurisdiction. The Council has proposed a remedy in acknowled

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council conducted an Education, Health, and Care Plan annual review, or how it responded to a request for a personal budget. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

Summary: The Council took too long to issue the final Education Health and Care Plan for Mr D’s son. It did not include Mr D in the production of the Plan and did not consider his comments on the draft Plan. The child was only able to access part time tuition during this time. The Council did not respond to many of Mr D’s requests for help and took too long to deal with his complaint to it. The Council has offered to remedy the injustice to Mr D and his son, and this is in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies.