| SPOTLIGHT |
A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation into a case in which the council had delayed a child's Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan has highlighted national recruitment problems faced by councils, the watchdog has said.
The report, which upholds a North Yorkshire mother's complaint about delays by the county council in meeting her son's EHC Plan, showed that the council had struggled to recruit Educational Psychologists (EPs) and had gone out to four rounds of recruitment, despite offering higher than average salaries.
During the investigation, it stressed to the Ombudsman that there was a national shortage of EPs, forcing it to rely on agency staff. According to the local authority, 70% of other councils were having similar problems.
The council's staffing problem meant that the complainant's child, who has dyslexia and social, emotional and mental health difficulties, was issued a delayed EHC Plan despite the EP never meeting the boy in person or virtually.
Instead, the plan was produced by the EP by gathering information from a teacher and speaking to the boy's mum over the phone.
The Ombudsman's investigation found the council took between three and four months too long to issue the boy's EHC Plan, which delayed the family's right to appeal the plan to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Tribunal. It meant the boy also missed out on the specialist provision he should have received at his mainstream primary school.
According to the Ombudsman, the council has 26 other complaints it has upheld about EHC Plan assessment delays.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said the problems faced by North Yorkshire County Council "are reflected in the investigations we conduct into councils up and down the country – and the very real effects this is having on so many children and young adults with additional needs".
He later added: "I welcome the strides the council is already making in trying to improve its recruitment and retention issues and hope to see an improved picture when it reports back to me on its progress."
The council has agreed to apologise to the mother and pay her £250 for the injustice caused and a further £450 for the loss of three months of SEND provision.
It has also agreed to review the other upheld complaints about EHC Plan assessment delays to see if those families are due a remedy in line with the Ombudsman's recommendations.
Responding to the report, North Yorkshire County Council's assistant director for inclusion, Jane le Sage, said that the local authority is also under greater pressure as requests for assessments and SEND services have increased "significantly" following the Covid-19 pandemic.
"[This] has meant that there have been some issues regarding communication with families and the timeliness of the statutory assessment process", le Sage continued.
She added: "We accept the Ombudsman's findings and accept that in this case our performance not been good enough. We apologise for any distress experienced by the family.
"Appropriate, timely action has been taken to improve our performance by strengthening the capacity of the SEND casework and administrative teams, together with further professional development of staff to ensure expected standards are understood and maintained."
Adam Carey
