Blooming LA! Help needed with stat assessment timeline post tribunal

[bjkmummy]

Applied for stat assessment in dec 2013. Was refused so appealed. Appeal hearing may 2014 - found out we won mid may 2014 so LA order to assess.

End if may - got letter from la saying they were assessing and reports to be in 6 weeks later so mid July then heard nothing else. EP and medical reports were done.

My understanding is that the LA have 10 weeks to assess and 2 weeks to then issue NIL/ statement.

10 weeks is up on Thursday this week so 2 weeks then after that.

Phones the La today to see whats happening. All reports are in (they were done in June so LA now had them for ages!)

Told that they have 18 weeks from end of May so that means that have until mid sept - phoned them back to query it and they say that they have also included the 6 weeks to decide whether to assess hence the 18 weeks.

Told them -no - you've had 6 weeks back in dec when you then said no and the tribunal have now made the decision to assess for you so no need for the 6 weeks again - it's now a straight 10 weeks to assess. She then realised that that means they have until Thursday to make the decision!

It was the admin girl I spoke to and she was last seen heading of to speak to the sen officer about it! I intend to email later to confirm the conversation and insist that they amend their timeline accordingly! I'm thankful that I did phone to check up on it but given they have dragged me to tribunal twice and lost , they would double check everything and make sure they are acting within the code ! I want the statement or not - before end of August so if I do need to appeal can get it in before 1st sept

Before I send off the email, can someone double check that I am right -that after a tribunal order to assess the LA have 10 weeks to carry out the assessment.

Many thanks

On phone and don't know how to link but www.senlegal.co.uk/useful information seems to confirm what you're saying. Sure your la never fails to surprise you!

I don't know the answer to your question bjk but I suspect I am being 'strung along' by my LA too. Admittedly my LA agreed to wait to complete SA so I could submit submit my indi SALT report which I did at week 10 in early July ( week 10 from the date they agreed to assess). After 12 weeks I emailed and asked when they would give me a decision. Got a vague email back saying not possible to give a date and that the case officer only worked part time and it was the last week of school term - not that either of those is relevant.

We are at the 14 week point now and I have emailed again this eve, prompted by your thread. Like you I am getting 'twitchy' about stunts the LA may try to pull once it gets to 1st Sep and the new system....

ive done a bit of digging myself and the LA are in my case wrong - they have recounted the first 6 weeks where they think about assessing - for my LA they are just being stupid so have emailed them and asked them to confirm that 10 weeks is correct and for a response by return - have cc in my councillor in case she tries to just ignore me as 10 weeks is up on Thursday.

through my digging I have discovered that if you ask for reports to be considered then the LA can extend the date but I don't think it states how much longer they can take which I guess isn't helpful is it? just keep on at them = on the ipsea website there a page about what if the LA don't comply to the deadlines and it mentions your scenario in there about them taking more time

im still awaiting an indie report myself but no sign of it yet so will try and get it in later - probably when im doing the next appeal when they issue the NIL

You're definitely right. If they still say otherwise, tell them you'll take judicial review proceedings.

Still awaiting them to respond to my email from yesterday. Have a feeling they will try and drag this out. I was determined I wouldn't get stressed during these holiday as for the last 3 summers I've been fighting over the summer and here I am yet again for the fourth year in a row having to deal with the incompetence of my LA!

You're right bjk - in that page on IPSEA although waiting for my report is one of the exceptions the LA can delay for, it doesn't say for how long.... But there is a sentence in the code that says the LA must 'endeavour' (frustratingly wooly word) to complete the assessment without delay. I got a reply to my email and the case worker has apparently drafted the prposed statement/NIL and will 'endeavour' to speak to a senior manager this week re DD's case and will let me know 'as soon as she is able' (more wooly-speak). I am assured that she expects to let me have the decision within the statutory framework timescale - - the date has already passed....

In my case this is my third summer dealing with tribunal/LA - the previous 2 summers I have been dealing with the disability discrimination case for DS2 - that finished last Oct (we won ) and then in Nov we put in our parental request for SA for DD.... Hopefully will be sorted for DD and DS3 (who is also currently being assessed but a bit behind DD in timescale) by next summer! Like you I have 3 on the spectrum....

I phoned the sen officer today and the EP answered the phone! sen officer in a meeting so he took the details and said he would get her to call me - then at 4pm EP phoned me and gave me a garbled story about sen officer still in a meeting but he need to know more about the dates that I was querying??? so I gave him the dates and he said he would leave her a message - still no phone call and no response at all to my email yesterday. they can solve this easily but instead we are going to play a stupid game again - will try and call her again tomorrow and then will email her again - this isn't rocket science and isn't complicated at all but the way they faff you around they make it into something much more complex than it ever needed to be and as parents we become the bad guys for daring to ask them to comply with the code of practice!

Well phoned again this morning to be told she's in yet another blooming meeting but she is aware that I'm awaiting a call and she will phone me today - still no phone call.... Will email tonight if no call and tell her i expect a call tomorrow otherwise on Monday I will be putting a complaint in. She is clearly avoiding me - this is silly, they just need to say sorry, made a mistake and that's it rather than now making it something so much bigger and could end up at JR. This sadly now feels like it has NIL written all over it