Summary: Mr X complained that the Council failed to provide his disabled son, Mr P, with an educational placement for up to two years. He says this has caused Mr X and his wife, Mrs X an injustice as the family have had to care and educate Mr P themselves. He considers Mr P has suffered an injustice as he has had little education, his mental state has deteriorated and he has been unable to exercise in the way his condition requires. The Ombudsman does not intend to investigate as the Council has not been given an opportunity to resolve the complaint by going through the full complaints process.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council:

• Failed to place Mr P in an educational placement since September 2020.
• Failed to provide other services such as rehabilitation and speech and language therapy since September 2020.

2. Mr X says the above alleged failure has caused he and his family distress. In particular he says Mr P has deteriorated and he has received little education. He says his wife, Mrs X has shown signs of depression, has suffered back pains, stress and anxiety. He says she had to give up her work to care for Mr P.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke to the complainant and read the initial documents provided by both the complainant and the Council.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

What I found

8. Below is a summary of material events. It is not meant to be a detailed chronology setting out all the facts, but only those relevant to this decision.
9. Mr X has a son, Mr P. Mr P has profound and multiple learning difficulties. He relies on other people to a large degree, needing physical and verbal support on an everyday basis.
10. It was hoped that Mr P would start at a higher education college, (College P), in September 2020. Both the Council and Mr X understood that the placement would go ahead.
11. However, in May 2020, College P told the Council that it could not provide a placement for Mr P. In June 2020 Mr P was placed on College P’s waiting list.
12. Mr X says the first he was told about the failed placement was in September 2020. He said that because the Council informed him of this at a late stage, he was too late to appeal the decision.
13. The Council said it was looking for a replacement placement. It suggested two possible placements, neither of which Mr X was happy with.
14. Mr X asked the Council to look at another placement and as he became more and more concerned that Mr P did not have a placement, in November 2020 he emailed the Council to remind it that Mr P had been at home since March 2020 without any education and without any form of therapy. Mr P’s Education, Health and Care plan (“EHC plan”) says that Mr P should be receiving appropriate education and other interventions.
15. Mr X says he did not receive a response and on 13 December 2020 he made a formal complaint to the Council. He said, among other things, that his son’s condition was getting worse due to the lack of rehabilitation and the lack of education. He said he would like an answer as matter of urgency and that if he did not receive a response he would contact the Ombudsman. The Council acknowledged his complaint.
16. On 18 January 2021 the Council responded by letter to Mr X. The letter is addressed to Mr X’s email address and was sent on 20 January 2021. The letter expressed that this was the Council’s Stage One response to Mr X’s complaint.
17. Although Mr X maintained communication with the Council, he did not respond to that letter to escalate his complaint to stage two of the Council’s complaints process.

Analysis

18. It is concerning that Mr P appears to have been out of education or receiving other therapies for some time. I understand that the Council has now found Mr P a placement which is due to start soon but Mr X says the Council has failed to provide a placement since March 2020.
19. However, Mr X has not gone through the Council’s full complaints procedure and the Council is best placed to resolve his complaint and offer a suitable remedy if it considers there has been any fault and injustice.
20. Therefore, I intend to discontinue this complaint investigation and give the Council the opportunity of fully addressing Mr X’s complaint.
21. Given the length of time that Mr X has been corresponding with the Council about missed provision, it would be reasonable to expect the Council to respond to Mr X’s complaint at the soonest and certainly within 12 weeks. If Mr X remains unhappy with the Council’s response he can return to the Ombudsman.

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Final decision to discontinue

22. I have discontinued my investigation into this complaint to allow the Council to fully address the issues in its complaint response.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman