DUDLEY Council has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 to a mother whose disabled son was left without an eduction for several months.

The local government and social care ombudsman has instructed the authority to make the payment after finding it hadn’t made suitable provision for the nine-year-old who suffers from autism and diabetes 

The findings of the watchdog’s investigation said Dudley had failed  make proper arrangements which meant the boy received no education for several months and he had missed out on provisions in his Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) .

Referring to the mother and child as Mrs X and B, the report said the boy began attending a special school in May 2017 after being diagnosed as suffering from autism.

In September, he was also found to have type 1 diabetes and had to take time off school, after which his behaviour changed due to the constant need to monitor his condition and his daily injections of insulin.

By January 2018 he was only attending school for four hours a week and in March that year he was removed from the pupil roll.

Mrs X paid for private tuition in her home but in March she wrote to the council saying she could no longer afford to pay her son’s tutor.

In response, the council agreed to designate B as receiving education otherwise than at school and repay Mrs X for tuition from February.

It also said her son would receive up to nine hours tutoring per week and it would amended his EHCP.

Despite a complaint to Dudley, his schooling only began again in September but for just two hours a week.

In his analysis of the case,  the Ombudsman stated: “The council’s handling of Mrs X’s complaint was poor. There was confusion over who was responding, and responses took longer than the 20 working days set out in the council’s procedure.”

He added: “The council only agreed to reopen the complaint in September 2018 following a request from the Ombudsman.

“This, together with periods of no communication from the council to Mrs X, was fault and will have caused Ms X frustration and avoidable time and trouble pursuing the complaint.”

Dudley Council has offered to pay £1,000 to her in recognition of the distress and delay caused.

But the Ombudsman also ordered the council to repay Mrs X £137 for private tutoring she had paid for plus £3,000 to remedy the injustice to B saying:  “Mrs X can use this for B’s educational benefit to ensure he catches up, as far as possible, on provision he missed out on.”

The council has agreed to apologise and review it procedures.