Hertfordshire County Council has agreed to pay a mother £500 after a five-month delay in issuing her child's Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

The finding was made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman following a complaint about the council's handling of support for a child with special educational needs and disabilities.

The ombudsman found the authority failed to issue the child's final EHC plan within the statutory 20-week deadline, with the document eventually being completed around five months late.

EHC plans are legal documents that set out the education, health and social care support a child or young person with special educational needs requires.

The child's mother, referred to in the published decision as Mrs X, complained about several aspects of the council's handling of her child's case, including delays to the EHC plan process and concerns about educational provision.

In its investigation, the ombudsman acknowledged that part of the delay was linked to a national shortage of educational psychologists, whose assessments are often required during the EHC plan process. However, it concluded the council was still responsible for ensuring legal timescales were met and found fault causing injustice to the family.

The watchdog said the delay caused avoidable distress and frustration to Mrs X. As a remedy, the council agreed to pay her £500 and undertake service improvement actions.

A Hertfordshire County Council spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise to the family in this case, who did not receive the standard of service that they should have.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

"In this case, the ombudsman has looked at issues dating back to 2024, since when we have seen important improvements in how we manage EHCP reviews.

"We have invested millions of pounds in improving our SEND services, and we have recruited over 100 extra staff, many with lived experience of SEND, to improve our work for children and young people with EHCPs."

The spokesperson added: "We are confident that the service offered to children and their families in Hertfordshire today is better than it was in the past, but recognise that we are still on an improvement journey and so the changes we have made will not be felt by all as yet.

"We are committed to continuing to improve our service for our families and are working closely with our schools and other educational settings to achieve this."