The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Council providing alternative provision for Ms X’s son when he could not attend school. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council delayed in providing alternative provision for her son when he could not attend school.
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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
During its complaint consideration, the Council accepted there had been a delay in arranging alternative provision for Ms X’s son.
There was a total delay of seven month as Ms X’s son stopped attending school in October 2021 and alternative provision was put in place from May 2022. This has caused the child an injustice as he received no education or the special education provision he needed for this period. The accepted delay would also have caused Ms X distress and frustration.
We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by the delay by completing the following: Pay Ms X £600 per month for six months. In reaching this figure, I have considered the fact the child was without any education or special educational provision. I have also allowed the Council one month as a reasonable amount of time for it to have arranged alternative provision. The total to pay is £3600 Pay Ms X £300 to recognise the distress and frustration caused to her by the accepted delay.
Agreed action
To its credit, the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within four weeks of the date of the final decision statement
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X and her son.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman