Amazing LGO - they never let us down!

[appropriatelytrained]

Amazing.

Before Christmas, the LGO ruled on a case concerning my disabled adult brother and cuts to his services. They investigated properly, got the files, reviewed them against national criteria and found the LA wanting. They ordered a new review of his services and changes to practices.

Today, with the most clear cut (and accepted) failure to put in place statementing provision for my son (a child obviously), they fail to find fault with our LA. Yes, this is a breach of the law, they say, but really, they ask, what could the LA have done to make things better?

Errr put the bleeding provision in place! What was stopping them? Service level agreements and er MONEY!

The 'formal investigation' consisted of a letter to school and a letter to the LA yet it took 10 months!!!!

As part of my complaint, my solicitor did an extensive and exceptional legal argument on the vexatious ban which was supported by my MP. The LGO have clearly not even read it. Their answer in a small paragraph response to the 14 pages of detailed legal argument she sent is - oh well, it's up to councils who they call vexatious. It's not a matter for us. Yes, we publish guidance but heh that's between friends, no one needs to follow it! Bless you you silly fool. Or at least it seemed felt like that

Really, absolutely incredible. Why can they not even be half way constructive? They have the power to bring complainant and council together, to review files, speak to witnesses. Yet they whitewash everything in the hope you'll bog off.

I am not someone who bogs off!

They have also invented a new expression to reduce the time a child spends without provision - weeks become 'working weeks'. So the failure to put in place any keyboard skills for my son for 5 months (they were supposed to be daily) is reduced to '11 working weeks'. WTF! I had to point out that on that basis there were only 14 'working weeks' between his statement issue and the date he started keyboard skills - so he was without them for 11 of the 14 weeks!

Yet, interestingly, DS's new school were able to put laptop provision in place THE DAY HE STARTED!!!! This new school are still demanding S&LT provision to no avail from the same crappy council but this time they won't lie to cover the council's arse like the last shower did.

Why are the LGO always like this on SEN? They already had to start their investigation again after issuing an initial judgment which said - go away everything is in place. The council have apologised and explained. I had to point out that not everything is in place and the council are lying.

Their verdict - you are right, everything wasn't in place but go away, the council have apologised and explained. This is the apology they issued when lying about provision.

All I have had since is a vexatious ban!!

Another victim of York Office LGO here too.

I am going to follow Wet's example and get my son to sue the LA for educational negligence at 16/18 (if the Goverment are still allowing anyone to get Legal Aid by then). Bloody hell, I'll save up the money if not. I have told LA this before and I think they know that I mean it but probably don't give a shit because it's 6 years away and many will have retired/ moved on by then.

All I wanted from my LGO complaint was an apology/ acknowledgement that they were wrong and that it wouldn't keep happening. Verbally, LA agreed this during mediation but wouldn't commit on paper.

LGO ignored my evidence from mediation (written by independent mediator) of things that they'd admitted to so her report cleared them of things that they'd admitted that they'd done! LGO even made up different excuses for their incompetence e.g. LA said the disputed decisions were never about money (clear lie but one repeated vehemently); LGO lady used the financial cost to defend the decision. etc. etc.

I really hate the LA but I really really really hate the LGO as they are an illusion of hope and fairness whereas you realise pretty quickly that the LA never will be!

I read things like that and I just give up hope. What does it take to hold these LAs to account?

Money and lawyers and judicial review.

Sorry I know. I veer between denial that this has been my life for the last 6/7 years and being that their incompetence, lies and obstructiveness have made what was already hard even harder. The that I feel about LGO is on another level. I do look to Wet's story for more inspiration because she did win, but that doesn't make up for what she had to go through to get there.

I think the problem is that we're dealing with public employees.

We civil servants have a very different ethos when it comes to 'doing the right thing'. FOIs are always answered within the deadlines, but we have always had Parliamentary Questions to answer, so appreciate the need for speed, but above all accurarcy. To permit a Minister / MP to inadvertently mislead Parliament because we 'got it wrong' would be a hanging event.

It was the Coventry based LGO who dealt with my case.

I really do advocate trying to get (lLegal Aid as was) when your DC reaches 16 and initiate an action against them.

DS signed the Green Forms? on his 16th birthday. Oh yes - I had been looking forward to that day for a very long time

It's the only way that will make things change, as their SEN and Legal Department have to use resource to fight these actions. OK, the damages are paid by their insurers but there must come a time when someone within the authority questions why they are fighting so many claims and could things not be done a better way? That was the argument that saw Austistic Bases finally being built in our LA as the costs of Tribunals and independant placements was spiralling. It says so in the Minutes of their Education Committee meetings.

I think you raise very interesting points Wet.

I have always thought that Loc Gov act in a way that central gov would never and that has to be to do with Ministers having direct responsibility for their departments (or at least in theory). They also seem to understand the public service ethos and the law a bit better.

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is Eric Pickles.

The Minister for Housing and Local Government is Grant Shapps.

See here

Perhaps we should be raising questions directly to these people and copying in our MPs?

They also take petitions - useless fluff I know - but they can go directly to the departments - see here

These are education matters but the way local authorities operate in terms of their general practices, abiding by the law etc, could arguably be the responsibility of this department

York LGO have struck again - Oh they agree there are probably about 3 counts of maladministration but have dropped the case as we have a tribunal in 2 months to try and get his final statement specified and quantified - only taken 3 years to get to this stage. However we can complain again - when we have an updated statement which will prove the "injustice" the LA have caused my son...(oh joy, it's taken 6 months to get this far this time!!))!!

No words sorry, but want you know it's been read.

Actually it'snot as bad as it seems. They do say they can't deal with stuff where an alternative route of remedy exists - e.g. SENDIST....

.. and they've agreed that you have suffered maladministration - the Tribunal ruling will tell them the extent of that injustice.
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Keep at it - I think it's a step forward

Thanks avoid and star and fingers crossed wet. It is just that after the tribunal if the LA let that piece of rubbish they call a statement of sen goto tribunal, the LA will then take as long as possible to actually amend the statement (just taken them 3 months from a tribunal hearing with my daughters statement to tell sendist they no longer oppose my appeal and issue the amended statement) so looking at another 9 months by which time the LA will have made up new lies to tell the LGO. Have already had to scan in old reports, emails and letters just to prove the LA have been lying about dates that they have given.

Nothing helpful to add - just to say that someone else understand you.

'I really hate the LA but I really really really hate the LGO as they are an illusion of hope and fairness whereas you realise pretty quickly that the LA never will be!' - I feel the same way about them, avoid. When I first contacted them, they seemed so concerned, caring etc. - all an illusion.

Trouble is the Tribunal can believe any old tosh the LA tell them and the LGO really shouldn't be relying on another body to tell them whether injustice has been caused.

That is their job. The LGO have to decide whether the failure of provision has caused injustice. The LA is hardly likely to turn up and flag that one up for the Tribunal whose remit is to concern itself with the current needs of the child and not to engage in a debate about what has or has not been in place.

Agree. Tribunal doesn't have power to define level of injustice. Barely has the legal basics to the job they are employed for.