The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because it would be reasonable for Mrs X to appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision not to issue an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan for her child, Y. Mrs X says all relevant evidence was not considered by the Council in its assessment of Y’s needs. Mrs X says she feels let down by the Council which has impacted her family’s well-being. She wants the Council to review the evidence again.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended).
The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I will not investigate this complaint because Mrs X can appeal to the SEND Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use her right of appeal because the SEND Tribunal is the appropriate body to review the Council’s assessment and decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal placing it out of our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman