An East London mother has been awarded £1,100 after her son missed vital therapy sessions. The local council acknowledged their mistakes and agreed to compensate her for the missed support.
East London: A mum recently got some good news. She was awarded over £1,100 because her son missed out on therapy sessions he was supposed to have. The local council, Tower Hamlets, messed up and had to pay up.
Ms B, as she’s called in reports, had been fighting for her son’s rights. He has special educational needs, and from September 2020 to July 2022, he was supposed to get therapy and activities as part of his plan. But the council dropped the ball.
They wrongly said she had to arrange everything herself. But during a time when her son wasn’t in school, the council should have stepped in. They admitted there were delays and apologized for the hassle it caused.
Her son’s plan included speech therapy, occupational therapy, and weekly activities. But after pulling him from one school and then a college, she felt the council didn’t help find a good fit for him.
After getting frustrated, she took her complaint to the Ombudsman in March 2024. They found that while she had invoices for some sessions, her son missed out on many more. It was a real headache for her trying to sort it all out.
The Ombudsman pointed out that the council had wrongly claimed her personal budget was misused. They never officially took it away, which was a big mistake on their part.
Now, the council has agreed to pay her £1,165 for the missed sessions. They’re also reviewing how they handle personal budgets to avoid this in the future. They want to make sure kids get the support they need.
It’s a relief for Ms B, and hopefully, this will lead to better support for other families too.
