| SPOTLIGHT |
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised a London borough over repeated failures in relation to a boy with special educational needs, in a case where at one stage a council decision-making may have acted illegally when it withdrew support.
The LGO has upheld three separate complaints in nine years about London Borough of Redbridge failing to provide occupational therapy, and latterly one-to-one support, for the boy.
The Ombudsman said that the council had on each occasion agreed to put things right, but it remained “concerned about the council’s ability to learn from its mistakes”.
The LGO first issued a public report against the authority in 2008 after it failed to ensure the boy received occupational therapy for more than a year.
In the most recent case, the boy was without one-to-one support for more than five months after Redbridge acted wrongly when removing it from his Statement of Special Educational Needs.
This latest complaint to the Ombudsman came after his parents discovered the boy had been without the one-to-one support specified in his statement for five months, until the school decided to provide the support without the council’s input.
According to the LGO, a council decision-making panel – despite not having the powers to do – decided not to fund the 30 hours a week one-to-one support. Redbridge did not tell the parents, who only found out about the decision when the school told them the support would no longer be provided.
The parents complained and the council’s own investigation upheld a number of points, including that its panel may have been acting illegally when it withdrew support.
The council offered the family a small remedy, and assured them changes would be made. However, the family went to the Ombudsman because they felt the council’s remedy and recommendations did not go far enough.
The parents told the LGO that their son had suffered anxiety and distress because he had not received the support he needed. In addition they had lived a life of stress and worry because of Redbridge’s actions, which had led to a lack of trust and affected their health.
The LGO’s recommendations, which have been agreed by the council, include that Redbridge should:
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “The best councils use our investigations to learn from their mistakes and help improve services for everyone. It is particularly worrying that Redbridge council has repeatedly failed the same family.
“While I acknowledge the council had already identified many of the faults my investigation found with the family’s complaint, there was little appreciation of the cumulative effect its on-going failings had on their son.
”I hope the changes Redbridge has now made will result in a significantly improved service both for this family and for others with children who have special needs, and go some way to restoring the family’s trust that the council can properly support their son.”
