Final Statement Not Issued due to LEA refusal

[insanityscatching]

which means the one in use names a specialist provision that cannot keep him as he is now outside of their statutory notice (11 to 16 and ds is post 16)
LEA won't finalise the proposed amended because they state I can appeal the proposed amended.
The school named on the proposed amended haven't been given it by the LEA (I sent them a copy) and so subsequently haven't recruited TA support to cover the 30 hours on his statement and won't recruit until they have seen a final statement.
LGO won't investigate until after it goes to Tribunal and don't seem to grasp that if I don't get a final statement I can't go to appeal.
Ds isn't in school because the school can't take him without support, he can't go to the specialist provision because they wouldn't have insurance and don't have the space or support in any case.
The solicitor is getting no sense from the LEA in so far as they state they have now fulfilled their duty with the proposed amended statement and they deny receiving correspondence from the school stating they can't meet his needs even though school have sent it twice now and solicitor sent copies twice and they state school have the support in place and a transition plan ready when they clearly have not.
Ds is at home without a plan in place for his future and I am housebound unless my husband or one of my adult children is off work to take over ds's care.
Any advice please?

When you contacted the LGO, did you do so by phone? Did they allocate a reference number and a case officer who decided they couldn't investigate or were you simply told on the phone that they couldn't get involved? If it was the latter please try again. The people who answer the phones for the LGO appear to be very junior and frequently say they can't take cases when in fact they are able to do so. The point is you have exhausted all appeals within the LA. If SENDIST won't take the case the LA is deliberately acting to prevent an appeal. That is maladministration (as is their insistence on naming a school which has repeatedly said it cannot meet your son's needs) and the LGO really ought to get involved. I would ring them again or write to them saying that the LA is denying your right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal dealing with SEND by refusing to finalise the statement.

As for the idea that the LA have fulfilled their duty, words fail me.

No I put the complaint in writing in May, I have a reference number and an investigator allocated to me from the York office.I have supplied copies of all correspondence and emails throughout. They have it in writing that the LEA won't finalise the statement because they have fulfilled their statutory duty, just the same as they have it in writing that they intend to name a non existent provision and all the other rubbish I have been fed for 9 months.
I have since emailed again the LGO clarifying my complaint is that the LEA won't finalise the statement that should have been finalised in February and again telling them I am not asking them to investigate something that can be righted by Tribunal.But that I can't appeal until I have the Final Statement.
I have had an email acknowlegement but no comment.

God what a nightmare. I'm guessing you've contacted IPSEA.

Yes and SOSSEN who put me onto one of the top education law firms. I have every faith that when we get to Tribunal I will win because the school they propose can't meet his needs and the LEA have no alternative suggestions so ds will get the non maintained specialist provision that has assessed him and can meet his needs. But the solicitor cannot get them to issue the final statement to even get us there and the LEA's solicitors keep questioning whether she has referred them to the LSC (don't understand that bit though if anyone can explain)

Well yesterday LGO said that she would instruct LEA to issue Final Statement using whatever authority she had and said she would update me today.

Anyway no Final Statement and no LGO update either so I have no idea what's happening that end.

Had an email from Local Inclusion Officer asking to meet up to discuss educational provision for Jack so it appears the proposed amended statement wasn't intentioned as ds's post 16 provision anyway as he wants to discuss alternatives.

Sent that to solicitor who has advised LIO to put in writing what LEA's intentions are and send full details of what he wants to discuss and once she's seen it then she'll decide whether or not it's appropriate to have a meeting.

The papers are going in tomorrow for a Judicial Review which she hopes will spur the LEA into action but we have a good case to put forward now as ds has a statement naming a provision that doesn't have the statutory notice to take him.

We have a proposed amended statement naming a provision that says it is unsuitable and an LIO who wants to discuss alternatives which suggests that the proposed amended statement was never going to be finalised and was yet another delaying tactic.

I am hoping that now we can at least start moving forward.

Can anyone tell me why the LEA's solicitors keep asking my solicitor whether or not she has referred their letters (which contain rubbish such as appeal the proposed amended statement we have fulfilled our statutory duty) to the Legal Services Commission? What does that mean?

Thank you

no idea but good luck!

I think you've misinterpreted the LSC reference. I believe the LA is referring to the Learning & Skills Council. They no longer exist having been superceded by the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency. They both have responsibilities relating to education for young people over the age of 16.

No it isn't abbreviated by the LEA's solicitors so it is definitely Legal Services Commission

I was going to say Judicial review sounds like the only way forward - but your solicitor is onto that.

Good luck

Just completed the witness statement for Judicial Review and suddenly it all seems serious and after getting precisely nowhere for months it seems we might be moving forward.
Added to that the LGO has instructed the LEA to finalise the statement as a matter of urgency and inform them of the provision they have in place for ds so I'd like to think the LEA will at least comply one way or the other anyway.
Who knows we could be off to Tribunal sooner rather than later.

Can I ask from everything I've read or heard most LA's appear to be very reluctant to risk Judicial Review but ours must have nerves of steel because they aren't budging not even to finalise the statement as told by the LGO Why would that be?