Mum gets more than £3k from Central Beds Council after it failed to provide 'necessary' support for her son

This included necessary educational support and resources, which “disadvantaged” him, according to a local government watchdog.

The mother complained Central Bedfordshire Council’s inability to provide one section of the plan “resulted in delays and unmet needs, including issues with his personal budget” said a report from the local government and social care ombudsman.

She also referred to “costs incurred, which haven’t been reimbursed by the council”, saying she has “spent time and money supporting my son because of CBC’s alleged shortcomings”.

Her complaint in August 2023 concerned her son’s EHCP, issued a year earlier, around “individual targeted teaching and frequent rehearsal for developing auditory processing skills”, explained the report.

“Section F provision delivered via a personal budget had delayed speech and language provision, cost the family and caused unnecessary stress because of personal budget payments being late or ceased.

“CBC acknowledged confusion and a lack of communication regarding delivery and payments. On escalating her complaint to stage two, CBC said it:

• commissioned an auditory processing assessment, with arrangements to commission a tutor to be expedited without delay, as this was more than a year overdue;
• acknowledged the inconvenience caused to her regarding the implementation of speech and language therapy (SALT) provision;
• accepted a delay in processing the annual review paperwork to renew the personal budget, which resulted in insufficient funds to cover his provision;
• increased payments into the personal budget to cover a mileage increase and agreed a back payment to cover the monies due from the summer term.

“When she contacted the ombudsman in November 2023, her complaint was marked as premature. But she inquired again in April 2024, after CBC’s stage two complaint response.

“CBC told us it offered her £900 in acknowledgement of provision not being made as set out in Section F, delays in implementing provision, delays in securing SALT provision, and the personal budget not being increased in line with cost-of-service increases.

“The council issued a compensation payment of £2,070 to her in September 2024 for the period from September 2023 to March 2024,” added the report. “This amount included £1,870 for missed provision and £200 for the time she spent following up the matter.

“She submitted extra complaints to its service between March and September 2024. The fault and injustice identified between September 2023 and March 2024 mostly falls outside the scope of this investigation.

“CBC has offered her a remedy of £900 for the period under investigation, with a further £300 to address the distress caused by poor communication and delays.

“I’m satisfied the combined £1,200 offer has addressed the injustice in this complaint sufficiently. CBC has also agreed to provide an apology to her for fault and injustice identified in this complaint, and to complete a review of his circumstances.

“It should improve the process for reviewing and updating personal budgets. There’s a finding of fault. CBC acknowledges it didn’t deliver the provision, caused delays, and failed to communicate effectively.”