Decision details

4.1     The Director of Law and Assurance reported that, further to minute 10 of the last meeting, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman had written to the County Council again, to ask the County Council to comply with its original recommendations in relation to the case previously considered by the Committee.

4.2     The Director advised that as the findings could not be rejected other than through judicial review, he recommended that the County Council should comply with the recommendations of the Ombudsman, that an apology be made, £400 be paid and that procedures should be reviewed. He advised that the Education and Skills Service had now accepted this and he did not consider that accepting the recommendations would set a precedent as each case is individually assessed and it remains the case that the Council does not agree with but accepts the findings.

4.3     The Committee noted the Director’s advice as Monitoring Officer. The Committee remained concerned about the implications of the findings of the Ombudsman, but did not consider it appropriate to consider a judicial review into the matter. It noted that the alternative provision eventually provided for the student concerned was now proving effective and that it was providing a good educational outcome.

4.4     Resolved – That the Ombudsman’s recommendations on the education complaint case be agreed – that the Council will:

(1)     Apologise to Mr and Mrs X for not fully considering alternative approaches to ensuring an education for their daughter from April to July 2017;

(2)     Pay them £400 to recognise the loss of educational opportunity during this period, to be used for the benefit of Y’s education;

(3)     Remind relevant staff that the duty to provide alternative education may arise for reasons other than exclusion and illness.