Somerset Council fined over disruption to SEND support

Somerset Council have been fined nearly £1,900 in compensation

A council has been fined £1,900 after disruption to paid support for a deaf child.

Confusion in assessments by social workers led to months of delays in payments for a child and his mother.

Somerset Council, and its predecessor Somerset County Council, have been reprimanded on number of occasions over ensuring children with special educational needs have access to quality schooling.

The council has apologised.

The child in this case has special education needs (SEND) relating to his hearing.

'Apology for distress'

The reprimand was handed out by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).

It raised concerns over delays in providing quality schooling to the deaf child, reliant upon support payments - according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The ombudsman investigates allegations that councils have not fully carried out their legal duties to taxpayers.

Over the last 12 months, the ombudsman has fined Somerset Council more than £6,000 for its poor performance in providing SEND schooling, including £1,000 in late-October 2023.

A council spokesman said: "In this case we have accepted the findings and apologised to the family for any distress caused to them."We have accepted the remedy actions in full, these will be delivered within the agreed time-scales."We recognise the importance of services working together across the local authority area to overcome duplication and delay for families as noted in this situation," the spokesman added.

"Our most recent feedback from Ofsted recognises the improvements we have made across children's services, but we know there is more to do and are committed to learning from all complaints."The council has also been ordered to review communication arrangements between its teams to ensure it has "a joined-up, cooperative approach" to assessing children's needs.

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