| SPOTLIGHT |
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has hit out at a county council over its failure to do what it promised following a previous complaint to do for a boy with special educational needs.
The LGO also criticised Surrey County Council for its “unfocussed approach” to handling the complaint and dealing with the Ombudsman’s office, and for having a lack of joined-up communication between departments.
The Ombudsman’s original investigation found the council failed to provide the boy with the therapy he was assessed as needing. The council was also told to identify whether any other children in the county had been affected by the same failings.
Following that investigation, Surrey promised to apologise to the family, pay them a sum of money and obtain assessments from relevant professionals to ensure the boy’s education did not suffer because of the lack of therapy.
Surrey was given a month to implement the recommendations, but did nothing until prompted, the LGO said. “At one point the council told the Ombudsman the financial remedy had been paid to the family, even though it had not."
During a follow-up investigation, Surrey provided evidence that the new school the boy was attending was providing the therapy set out in his Education, Health and Care Plan and so it had met that part of the Ombudsman’s previous recommendations.
Surrey has now been asked by the LGO to:
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Members of the public can only have trust in their local authorities if they deliver what they promise. Surrey County Council did not do this, and I am particularly concerned it took several prompts from my office to make it happen. This report holds the council publicly accountable for the delayed resolution for the family.
“Ultimately, while the boy at the heart of this complaint was receiving the support he needs, if the council had taken a more consistent and joined-up approach to responding to our enquiries we could have been reassured this was the case at an earlier stage.
“I now encourage Surrey County Council to scrutinise how it works with my office and put in place measures to ensure it deals with future complaints and enquiries in a more appropriate way.”
A Surrey County Council spokesman said: “We’re very sorry to this young boy and his family for our handling of this case and completely accept the Ombudsman’s findings.
“We have reviewed the way we work to ensure we’re able to respond effectively to the Ombudsman in future.
“We’re pleased the right support is in place for this young boy and that he’s going to a school tailored to his complex needs. We will apologise again to the family and are fulfilling all the Ombudsman’s recommendations.”
