The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Education Health and Care Plan provision as Mr and Mrs X have appealed to the Tribunal.
The complaint
The complainants, whom I shall call Mr and Mrs X, complain that an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) does not meet their child, B’s needs.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions about special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr and Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
B, for whom Mr and Mrs X are their parents, has an EHC Plan. The Council issued a final version in October 2021. Mr and Mrs X say it does not meet B’s needs. They have appealed to the Tribunal SEND.
The courts have established that if someone has lodged an appeal to a SEND Tribunal, the Ombudsman cannot investigate any matter which is ‘inextricably linked’ to the matters under appeal. This means if a person disagrees with the placement named in an EHC Plan we cannot seek a remedy for lack of education after the date the appeal right started, if it is linked to the disagreement about the school place named. (R (on the application of ER) v Commissioner for Local Administration (Local Government Ombudsman) [2014] EWCA Civ 1407).
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because they have appealed to the Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman