LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult safeguarding. The Council has accepted fault and will apologise and act to improve future service. We are satisfied with the Council’s actions in response to the complaint. It is unlikely we could add to the Council’s investigation or reach a different outcome.

Summary: Ms T complains the Council delayed completing an annual Education, Health and Care Plan review for her daughter X from November 2022. There was fault by the Council. It has already provided a suitable financial remedy for the injustice to Ms T. The Council also agreed a service improvement.

Summary: Ms T complains about delays by the Council regarding her daughter’s Education, Health and Care Plan annual review. There was fault by the Council. However, the fault did not cause significant injustice to Ms T or her daughter that warrants a remedy.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council handled works to the kerb along the complainant’s road. This is primarily because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council, and it is reasonable to expect the complainant to use the court remedies available to him.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about education matters concerning Mrs X’s adult child, Mr Y. We lack his consent to do so and there is thus no worthwhile outcome achievable by investigating.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how a school dealt with a safeguarding matter. This is because the law prevents us from investigating what happens in schools.

Summary: Mrs X complains about the way the Council dealt with her daughter, Y’s post-16 education placement causing distress. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaints about the way the Council dealt with Y’s post-16 education placement. This is because Mrs X has appealed to the SEND Tribunal about her concerns and the law prevents the Ombudsman for investigating such matters. So, we are ending our investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a blue badge application. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

Summary: Miss P complains on behalf of her son. They complain the Council took eight months to agree to fund a suitable supported living placement for him. The Council’s only consideration was cost and its offers were not person centred. We uphold the complaint because of some fault in the care and support plan review process. But this led to limited injustice due to actions the Council later took. We do not agree that the Council’s only consideration was cost.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed outside the statutory timescales in issuing his child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. Mr X also complained the Council failed to secure a suitable school placement for his child for September 2024. I have ended my investigation because the Council has offered a suitable remedy for the delays in production of the Education, Health and Care Plan. The SEND Tribunal is better placed to investigate the school placement named in the Education, Health and Care Plan.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about Education Health and Care Plan delays. The Council has paid Miss X a lump sum for the delays. And it is reasonable to expect Miss X to have appealed the named educational setting to the Tribunal.

Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council administers school transport applications for children in her village. We do not find fault with how the Council assesses these applications. We find the Council at fault for delays in considering Miss X’s appeal, and for providing incorrect information but we find the Council has already taken sufficient action to address this.

Summary: Ms X complained the Council delayed completing an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her child and delayed putting in place educational provision after her child could not attend school. This meant her child missed education they should have received and has fallen behind their peers. We have found the Council at fault, however we are satisfied the Council has already offered Ms X an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused.

Summary: Mrs X complained about how the Council dealt with her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan and its alleged failure to provide her child with Occupational Therapy provision as specified in the Plan. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice to Y and Mrs X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to follow a tribunal order and failed to put in place the special educational provision detailed in her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. We have found the Council at fault for the delay in issuing the final Plan and failing to secure the special educational provision detailed in the Plan. The Council has agreed to apologise, reimburse financial costs and complete service improvements to remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified.

Summary: Mrs X complained about how the Council considers school transport applications for children in her village. We do not find fault with how the Council assesses these applications or how it responded to Mrs X’s application and appeal.

Summary: there were problems following the emergency review of B’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan on 26 June 2023. The Council accepts it failed to follow the statutory process, which resulted in delays, and should have had more robust oversight of alternative arrangements for B’s education when he stopped attending school. B did not attend school for one and a half terms, and although he received some alternative provision, it may not have been as much as he needed. In any event, it was considerably less than the full-time school place to which he was entitled.

Mr X complained about how the Council handled the transfer of his daughter, Miss Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan when they moved into the area. We find fault which left Miss Y without an education, or the provision detailed in her Education, Health and Care Plan for two years. The Council has agreed to apologise, makes a payment to Mr X and improve its services.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about delay by the Council in issuing an Education, Health and Care Plan for her daughter following an annual review. This is because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken to remedy any injustice caused.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to deliver his child’s Education, Health and Care Plan provision since February 2022. Mr X also complained the Council failed to complete the Education, Health and Care Plan reviews suitably. We found the Council provided most of the provision from the Education, Health and Care Plan. But, we found the Council failed to ensure some Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy provision was provided. We found fault with the Council delaying for over 49 weeks outside the statutory timescales in producing an amended Education, Health and Care plan for Mr X’s

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Education, Health and Care Plan process for the complainant’s child. The complaint is late, it was reasonable for the complainant to use their appeal rights, and there is no worthwhile outcome we could now achieve.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council has dealt with her application for a school place. This is because it is reasonable for Ms X to use her right of appeal to an independent panel.

Summary: We will not investigate in isolation this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s representations against a penalty charge notice it issued to him as any injustice from this can be remedied via an appeal to the Tribunal.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about delays in the Education, Health and Care needs assessment process. This is because the Council offered a remedy in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance, and further investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome. We will not investigate some of Mr X’s complaint because he can submit an appeal to a tribunal.

Summary: The Council was at fault for not putting in place all the provision listed in a child’s Education, Health and Care Plan following a decision from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. This caused injustice as the child missed out on provision they should have received. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise, make financial payments and put in place the remaining provision.