Watchdog orders Hertfordshire County Council to pay thousands to family

The parent took her complaint – about the delay in finalising her child’s EHC assessment – to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

And she also complained that after her child was excluded from school, the council had failed to put in place any alternative educational provision for more than six months.

In response to the complaint, a report published by the LGSCO suggests that the council has failed to present evidence that it had provided educational provision for the child, between January and July last year.

And, says the LGSCO report, the issuing of a final Education Health and Care Plan had been delayed by more than three months.

According to the LGSCO, the county council had already proposed the making of a payment of £2,100 to recognise the missed education – and a further £200 for the time and trouble experienced.

But the LGSCO has proposed that the payment for missed education should be increased to £3,200 – equivalent to £1,600 per term.

And in addition to the £200 for time and trouble, the LGSCO suggests a further payment of £300 to recognise the “distress” caused by the delay in issuing the final EHCP.

In total that means the council has now agreed to pay the parent £3700, in recognition of the fault highlighted by the LGSCO.

The LGSCO says that “to its credit” the council has agreed to resolve the complaint and to award the payments within a month of their decision.

Commenting on the investigation, a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We acknowledge the findings of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) when a ruling is made against the council.

“While every effort is made to meet statutory time-frames in this case the level of service fell short of what parents should expect.

“While we cannot discuss individual cases, we sincerely apologise to the parent and child and continue to take steps to improve service standards for children with special educational needs and disabilities.”

An Education Health and Care assessment is a process that determines the educational needs of a child or young person.

This can lead to the issuing of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) – that sets out a child’s needs and the arrangements that should be made to meet them.

The process – from the request for an assessment to the issuing of an EHCP – should take no longer than 20 weeks.