The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s poor communication because the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to provide him with a weekly update on his child’s school placement.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My Assessment
In response to Mr X’s complaint about his child’s education, the Council said it would provide him with an update every Friday regarding his child’s placement. The Council failed to do this.
We will not investigate this complaint because the injustice to Mr X is not significant enough to warrant investigation.
The Council has now issued a final Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan and named a placement in Section I of the Plan. If Mr X is unhappy with the placement, he can use his right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient injustice to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman