Bin collections

Residents who are due to have brown bins emptied on Friday 22 November should leave these out for collection as normal. If we are unable to empty your brown bin, we will attempt to return next week. For more information, visit our Missed bins page.

SEND Tribunal national powers

Outcome of the National Trial

The Government has confirmed that they are continuing the extended powers of the First-tier Tribunal (SEND), sometimes referred to as the ‘SEND Tribunal’, to make non-binding recommendations about the health and social care parts of education, health and care (EHC) plans.

This means that you have the right to request recommendations about the health and social care needs and provision specified in EHC plans, in addition to the educational aspects, when making a SEND appeal. This gives you the opportunity to raise all your concerns about an EHC plan in one place.

It is only possible for the Tribunal to consider the health or social care aspects of the EHC plan where you are already making an appeal for the education aspects of the EHC plan and the education aspect must remain live throughout the appeal.

What this means for parents and young people

If you are unhappy with a decision not to issue an EHC plan, or with the special educational content or placement in the plan, you can make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. You are also able to request recommendations about the health and social care content of the plan at the same time, provided there is also an education element. This will mean the Tribunal will take a more holistic, person-centred view of the needs of the child or young person.

This does not prevent you also complaining about other aspects of your disagreement through other complaint procedures. You should seek advice about the different routes available, including from your local Information Advice and Support Service (IASS).

If the SEND Tribunal makes a recommendation about health or social care elements of an EHC plan, this is non-binding. The local authority and/or health commissioner is generally expected to follow such recommendations, but they are not legally binding. Where they are not followed, the reasons for not following them must be explained and set-out in writing to you and to the Department for Education through the evaluators. If they are not followed, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) or Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) or seek to have the decision judicially reviewed.

Making recommendations about health and social care

You can request the Tribunal makes recommendations about the health and social care aspects of EHC plans as part of an appeal relating to:

the description of the child/young person’s special educational needs in an EHC plan
the special educational provision specified in an EHC plan
the school or other educational institution named in an EHC plan
a decision by the local authority not to issue an EHC plan
a decision by the local authority not to carry out a re-assessment for a child or young person who has an EHC plan
a decision by the local authority not to amend an EHC plan following a review or re-assessment
a decision by the local authority to cease to maintain an EHC plan.

If you want to appeal against a local authority decision on any of the grounds above and want to request that the Tribunal considers your concerns about the health and/or social care aspects of the EHC plan, you should follow the process for bringing an appeal to the Tribunal and tick the box on the form relating to a health and/or social care appeal. Advice on making SEND appeals to the Tribunal and the appeal form is available on the GOV.UK website.

Mediation for a parent or young person

Before you can register an appeal with the Tribunal, you must contact a mediation adviser within two months of the local authority decision you wish to appeal and consider whether mediation might be a way to resolve your disagreement. If you want to appeal only about the school or other institution named in the EHC plan you do not have to contact a mediation adviser.

You can go to mediation about the health and social care elements of an EHC plan, but this is not compulsory. You can request recommendations about health and social care issues without having to receive mediation advice or attend mediation about those issues, provided there is also an education issue about which you are appealing.

Once a mediation adviser has been contacted, or once you have taken part in mediation, you will be issued with a certificate. This will be necessary if you are still unhappy and wish to progress to an appeal with the Tribunal. An appeal to the Tribunal must usually be made within two months of the decision about which the appeal is being made or one month following the issuing of the mediation certificate, whichever is the later.

If mediation resolves the educational issues, you will not be able to appeal to the Tribunal on any health and social care aspects of the EHC plan. However, mediation provides an opportunity for us to resolve disagreements and it can be completed more quickly than an appeal. It does not affect your right to make an educational appeal, and some aspects of the disagreement can go to appeal even when other aspects are resolved.