Mum awarded £1.5k after Birmingham City Council delay causes ‘injustice’
Birmingham City Council has been ordered to apologise and pay a mum £1,500 after a delay caused her son to miss SEN provision.
The Birmingham mum, referred to as Miss X, claims the council did not comply with ‘statutory timescales’ when it issued her son’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
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This is a document which sets out a child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.
The mum says her son missed “educational opportunity” while she herself has suffered “avoidable distress”.
In particular, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found there was a delay of over 10 weeks to the issuing of the EHC Plan, which meant the mum “suffered injustice as a result because her appeal rights were delayed”.
The ombudsman’s final decision read: “Miss X complains the council has not dealt properly with her son’s education.
“The council is at fault because it did not comply with statutory timescales when it produced [her son’s] EHC Plan.
“Miss X suffered a delay to receiving her right of appeal and the delay caused [her son] to miss Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision.
“The council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Miss X and make service improvements.”
In particular, the city council has been ordered to pay the mum £1,500 “in respect of missed special education provision and delays to appeal rights”.
The Labour-run authority has also been told to produce an action plan to demonstrate how the council will meet statutory timescales for needs assessments and issuing EHC Plans.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about the findings, the mum argued that a “plan alone does not amount to compliance”.
“Until recommendations are fully implemented, remedies delivered and meaningful improvements felt by families, Birmingham City Council cannot reasonably claim that Ombudsman recommendations have been actioned or that SEND children are being adequately protected or supported,” she said.
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “BCC action all recommendations from the ombudsman.
“There is a robust SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan in place.
“This captures the actions the local area partnership commits to making to improve the lived experience of our SEND children and families in the city.”
Last summer, it was confirmed that Birmingham’s services for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities had been given the middle rating of three possible outcomes by inspectors.
The council said at the time that the outcome marks “significant progress in Birmingham” since the last full SEND inspection in 2021 identified “widespread and systemic failings across the local area partnership”.
But Coun Mick Brown, the cabinet Member for children, young people and families, acknowledged there is still more for improvement when it comes to SEND services.
“The report recognises the improvements we’ve made in leadership, partnership working, and early support, and that’s a testament to the dedication of everyone involved,” he said.
“But there is more to do, and I promise you there will be no complacency.
“We are absolutely committed to building on this momentum, creating lasting, positive changes that empower all our children to thrive and reach their full potential.”
