- Location: Lambeth council area.
- Ruling: Ordered to pay nearly £2,000.
- Reason: Boy missed one year of SALT.
- Boy’s Needs: Special educational requirements.
- Therapy Type: Speech and language therapy (SALT).
- Context: Failure to provide mandated therapy services.
The youngster lost out on SALT and several weeks of tutoring as a result of Lambeth Council’s tardiness in doing their yearly evaluation, according to an investigation conducted by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
According to a Lambeth Council representative, the council completely accepts the findings and has implemented all of the LGSCO’s recommendations, including offering the family an apology and compensation of £1,950.
The sum is £1,000 to cover the missed tuition, £750 to cover the missing therapy, and £200 to cover the grief brought on by the boy’s yearly EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) review being delayed.
It is the duty of local authorities to ensure that the plans outlined in the EHCP are implemented. The LGSCO can investigate complaints regarding this, including instances in which the plan’s specified support has not been given and instances in which the procedure has been delayed.
On behalf of the boy’s family, a woman identified only as Ms. X in a report had complained that the council had neglected to support them and their son and to make the necessary school-based provisions. She added that this had caused the family distress and prevented their son from receiving an education.
The council should have conducted an annual assessment by late October 2024, but it didn’t begin until early December 2024, according to the LGSCO. The boy’s EHCP should have been granted by the council within 12 weeks following the annual review, but it wasn’t until June 2025, which the LGSCO acknowledged as a mistake.
According to the LGSCO, the family would have been irritated if the yearly review had not been completed in about ten weeks. They also claimed that the council had postponed any appeals. The boy’s EHCP outlined a number of educational services, most of which were to be provided at school. The EHCP also recommended occupational therapy (OT) and SALT, according to the LGSCO.
However, the LGSCO cited Section F of the boy’s EHCP, which outlines all of the educational services a child or young person needs, and stated that the council had an obligation to provide the provision. The LGSCO concluded that the council was at fault for this.
The council offered the youngster tutoring when it became clear that he couldn’t go to school.
The council decided to extend his tutoring hours from 15 to 30 per week in April 2024.
The boy’s mother claims her kid did not receive any assistance from mid-April 2024 to June 2024, despite the fact that the extended tutoring hours were not implemented until June 2024. This was noted by the council as an additional flaw.
A Learning Support Assistant (LSA) was assigned by the council in December 2024, began work in February 2025, and stayed on while the LGSCO looked into the family’s case. The council did try to fill in the holes caused by LSA’s departure, according to the LGSCO.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) got in touch with Lambeth Council, a spokesperson said:
“Lambeth is committed to providing the best service possible for all our residents – and, whenever problems arise, we work hard to resolve these quickly and fairly.
We are determined to learn from this case and improve the service we provide to all residents in the future. We have reminded staff of ensuring all young people who are not attending an education setting must have timely annual reviews, to ensure that concerns such as these are handled promptly, professionally, and with the seriousness they deserve.”
What compensation precedent exists for missed therapy in Lambeth?
Lambeth Council has established compensation precedents for missed remedy through multiple Original Government Ombudsman rulings, generally awarding £1,000-£ 3,000 for experimental detainments caused by EHCPnon-delivery.
A 2024 ruling against Lambeth for failing to give 36 months of commanded occupational remedy redounded in£ 2,750 compensation(£ 1,500 child torture, £1,250 maternal vexation) plus retrospective remedy procurement. Another 2025 case concerning 18 months missed SALT awarded £1,800, establishing marks for 40 daily sessions valued at £65/ hour request rate.
Ombudsman guidance values remedy at £50-£75/ hour with torture multipliers( 1.5 x for children under 11), harmonious across London megalopolises. Lambeth’s systemic commissioning failures cited in 14 SEND complaints 2024/25 detector epigonic remedies missed hours x hourly rate x experimental impact factor, comprising£ 1,850 nationally.
