Issue - meetings

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Ombudsman’s report and the steps taken by the service to address the findings was noted.

2.    That no further action should be taken.

3.    That the Monitoring Officer would bring his report to the attention of all councillors was noted.

Reason for decision:

There was a statutory requirement for the Monitoring Office to bring to Members’ attention any Ombudsman report on the Council that identified it is at fault and has caused injustice as a result.

The Monitoring Officer presented his report and gave background details to the complaint which originated in 2015/16. He explained that Council had accepted the recommendations of the Ombudsman.  The Council would pay a total of £3750 for missed provision and time and trouble for the complainant in pursuing the complaint.

An apology had been extended to the family for the delay in issuing the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan), and for the lack of communication during this period.  Training would be delivered for special educational needs (SEN) staff to prevent a recurrence of the fault found by the Ombudsman and to make sure another family did not have the same experience.  He again stressed that the service had changed greatly since the date of the complaint in 2015/16.

The Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning and Leader of the Council extended their apologies for the failings in the handling of the complaint and were pleased that changes had now been put in place and the child was receiving support.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Ombudsman’s report and the steps taken by the service to address the findings was noted.

2.    That no further action should be taken.

3.    That the Monitoring Officer would bring his report to the attention of all councillors was noted.

Reason for decision:

There was a statutory requirement for the Monitoring Office to bring to Members’ attention any Ombudsman report on the Council that identified it is at fault and has caused injustice as a result.