Oxfordshire County Council to pay £6,600 over late care plan

A council has been told to pay a young woman and her mother £6,600 in compensation after it issued a care plan eight months late.

The young woman's plan should have been completed by Oxfordshire County Council in October 2020 but it was only sent to the family in June 2021.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) said the delay had a "significant disruptive impact" on their lives.

The council said it was "working hard to address delays in the system".

An annual review of the care plan was first held in July 2020.

It was amended in the August of that year and a second draft completed that September. A final plan should have been issued and completed within a month.

Her mother expected the council to agree to her daughter being given a place at a residential college.

But when the report was published in June 2021, the authority said that was unsuitable and suggested she used an online provider.

The council eventually agreed that she could attend the residential college in January.

"It is likely [the young woman] would have started her placement at the residential college at least eight months earlier if not for the fault.

"This will likely have had an impact on her educational progress," an LGO report said.

"We consider the fault therefore had a significant disruptive impact."

An Oxfordshire County Council spokesperson said: "We're working hard to address the delays in the system currently.

"We do, like many local authorities, have a significant increase in the number of requests we are receiving for needs assessments each month, alongside challenges in recruiting sufficient numbers of education psychologists and SEN (special education needs) officers."

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