Buckinghamshire Council left up to 400 children without therapy they were legally entitled to after failing to properly manage a change in its contracted services, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
The investigation was triggered by a complaint from the mother of two brothers with special educational needs, who were left without speech and language therapy for more than a year.
One brother also missed almost all of his occupational therapy between September 2023 and December 2024.
Ombudsman Amerdeep Clarke said the council made ‘wholescale changes’ to how it provided support without ensuring it could still meet children’s needs and had no back-up plan when a sub-contractor arrangement ended in early 2024.
Clarke warned councils across England of their duty to children with SEND, saying: ‘When a provider struggles to meet demand, it is the council’s responsibility to step in – not to wait and hope the situation improves.’
Buckinghamshire Council has agreed to apologise, pay £1,000 in recognition of the injustice, and produce an improvement plan.
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