WIREDGOV

Somerset Council has been criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for taking too long to put in place Speech and Language therapy for a teenager with special educational needs, following an earlier complaint.

The council had agreed to provide the therapy for the girl set out in her Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan after her mother complained to the Ombudsman in 2023.

The girl needed the therapy because her rare condition means she has difficulty processing verbal information, is likely to misinterpret what is said to her and is not able to express her views fully, which leads to her being unable to communicate effectively.

The council agreed to make ongoing payments of £50 per week while the therapy was not provided. If it could not provide the therapy within six months, it would also carry out a fundamental review of why it had failed to do so, and share an action plan with the girl’s mother. The council did not make the agreed payments to the mother until August 2024, and it did not review the situation nor share an action plan.

The Ombudsman’s new investigation found the girl’s mother had suggested a therapist that her daughter had previously worked with. But the council took so long to contact the provider that they no longer had any capacity to work with her.

The council did not take any action to ensure therapy was provided for the teenager until the beginning of July 2024, by which time she had finished college and was about to start university. Some therapy was eventually provided for the teenager over the summer holidays until she moved to university.

A clinical psychologist’s report says the lack of provision has had a detrimental effect on the teenager’s mental health. Had she received the therapy she was due in good time, she would have been much more prepared to start university and the increased demands that brings. The report also states she now needs more speech and language therapy because she has not received what she was entitled to under her EHC Plan.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said:

“This is a sad example of what can happen when councils fail to grasp the nettle and act swiftly on the recommendations we make. It is particularly disappointing to have to report on this case, where the council has willingly agreed to our improvements but has simply not taken any proactive action to put them in place.

“Councils tell us therapists are difficult to source for young people who need their services, and we know there is a national shortage. But in this case the teenager had a therapist they were confident with, and one who initially had capacity to help her. The council took so long to act their spaces were filled, and the teenager missed out on therapy for a whole academic year. 

“I hope my report spurs the council to take a hard look at the services it provides for children and young people, and also the seriousness with which it takes the fair and achievable recommendations I make to improve its services.” 

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council will write to the mother and daughter to apologise. It will also pay the mother £750 for the additional distress having to complain for a second time to the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council will review what went wrong in this case and put robust arrangements in place to ensure Ombudsman recommendations are complied with.