Mum gets payout from Bucks Council amid special education case backlog

Education, health and care plans (EHCPs) are legal documents created by councils setting out the needs of a child or young person with special educational needs (SEN) in their educational setting.

Where a plan is appropriate for a child, a local authority must create it within a strict 20-week timescale.

However, Buckinghamshire Council was two months late in issuing an EHCP for one family – the latest in a string of EHCP delays at the unitary authority.

A mum known only as Mrs X complained the council failed to meet its statutory deadline as it only issued the plan for her daughter ‘Y’ in May 2024, rather than its target of March.

The woman also complained that the council had delayed carrying out an occupational therapy (OT) assessment as part of the EHCP.

Her complaint against the council was upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which investigates complaints about local authorities.

The watchdog’s final decision from the end of March has just been published – publication is typically delayed by several weeks.

It reads: “The council was at fault because it failed to issue Y with an EHC Plan within the statutory timescales, caused in part by a delay in obtaining educational psychologist advice.

“There was also a 10-month delay in carrying out the OT assessment. The council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise the distress, frustration and some loss of provision.”

Educational psychologists assess children’s needs and provide advice to help inform councils in the EHCP process.

However, there is a national shortage of these professionals, which is affecting services at Bucks Council and other local authorities.

The Ombudsman’s report said: “The EP advice should have been available to the council by late January 2024 in order for it to have met the March deadline.

“It did not receive the EP report until mid-March 2024 which was a delay of six weeks and fault. This service failure came about due to the council being unable to recruit enough EPs to meet demand and a backlog of cases.”

In this case, the council agreed to apologise to Mrs X to recognise the ‘distress, frustration and uncertainty’ caused by the delays.

It also said it would pay the mum a total of £600 to recognise the delay in issuing the EHCP, Y’s loss of opportunity to receive provision in line with her plan, and the delay in getting Y assessed by an occupational therapist. The amount includes £150 the council already offered to Mrs X.

The council has been approached for comment.