Brighton and Hove City Council

2019 data (FOI ref 6026045): Complaints made about the SEND team: 10 formal complaints, plus 6 complaints received directly by the SEND team; of these, 0 concerned the EHCP needs-assessment process. Tribunals lodged against the local authority: 20. Of these: 5 were upheld by the tribunal, 4 were conceded by the LA, 3 were withdrawn, 1 was dismissed by the tribunal, and 7 were still ongoing at time of response. Breakdown of the 20 by ground: Refusal to assess 5, Refusal to issue 1, Section B/F/I 7, Section B&F 4, Section F&I 0, Placement 3. Refusals to assess that were overturned and assessments agreed following: mediation 6, tribunal 5, other methods 40. Of those, 41 went on to have a plan agreed, with 9 still awaiting a decision to issue at time of response.

Since the Children and Families Act 2014 (13/03/2014). Complaints about the SEND team: not logged for 13/03/14-31/08/14, 2014-15 and 2015-16; 43 for the combined '2016-18' period, of which 6 concerned the EHCP needs-assessment process. Tribunals lodged against the local authority, by year (13/03/14-31/08/14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19): 5, 11, 9, 13, 32, 3. Won (upheld by SEND Tribunal): 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, [not given for 2018-19]. Conceded: 4, 6, 2, 6, 11, [not given]. Withdrawn: 0, 3, 3, 5, 8, [not given]. Dismissed: 0, 2, 2, 2, 4, [not given]. Ongoing: -, -, -, -, 9 (2017-18), [not given for 2018-19]. Breakdown by ground - Refusal to assess: 1, 0, 0, 1, 3, [not given]; Refusal to issue: 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, [not given]; Placement: -, -, 1, 3, 6, [not given]; Provision: 1, -, 1, -, 5, [not given]. Additional combined-ground figures (council's note: appeals can have multiple grounds) - Description of SEN, Placement and Provision (B,F&I): 3, 7, 6, 9, 12, 2; Description of SEN & Provision (B,F): -, 2, 1, 1, 5, [not given]; Provision & Placement: -, 1, -, -, -, [not given]. Refusals to assess overturned and assessment agreed following - mediation: n/a, n/a, n/a, n/a, 2, 0; tribunal: 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0; other methods*: n/a (x5), 0. Of those, went on to have a plan agreed: 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0. *Footnote: council states it cannot provide the 'other methods' breakdown as it does not hold data at that level and compiling it would exceed the 18-hour FOI limit.