The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. Mrs X has appealed to a tribunal. This places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
Mrs X complains the Council did not obtain necessary reports during her child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment.
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 cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (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 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
Mrs X’s child, Y has Special Educational Needs (SEN). Mrs X requested an EHC needs assessment for Y. After assessing Y, the Council decided not to issue an EHC Plan.
Mrs X says the Council failed to obtain the necessary reports to understand Y’s needs. Mrs X says this meant she had to pay for private reports.
Mrs X appealed the Council’s decision to the SEND Tribunal. The Tribunal decided the Council should issue an EHC Plan for Y.
I cannot investigate the Council’s EHC needs assessment, decision not to issue an EHC Plan, or any costs or delays in connection with these decisions. These matters overlap with the role of the Tribunal.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. Mrs X has appealed to the SEND Tribunal. This places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman