TW & Anor v Hampshire County Council
[2022] UKUT 305 (AAC)
AB v East Sussex County Council
15 February 2024
[2024] UKUT 87 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal
A young adult's education plan was wrongly ended. A court decided the original decision was flawed because it didn't properly consider what kind of education the young adult needed and didn't ask the young adult whether they wanted more education. The case will be reheard.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against the First-tier Tribunal's (FTT) decision to uphold the Local Authority's cessation of O's EHC plan.
- •O is a 22-year-old with multiple diagnoses, including severe learning disabilities.
- •O's education ceased due to lack of funding for his specialist college placement.
- •The FTT upheld the Local Authority's decision without adequately addressing O's required special educational provision.
- •The Upper Tribunal (UT) considered grounds of appeal relating to inadequate findings, focus on setting over provision, failure to address progress, and breach of Regulation 30(1).
Legal Principles
When deciding whether to cease maintaining an EHC plan, a local authority/tribunal must determine if the young person would meet the test for preparing and maintaining an EHC plan initially. If yes, ceasing maintenance is difficult to justify.
B&M -v- Cheshire East Council [2018] UKUT 232 (AAC)
A tribunal must make adequate findings about the special educational provision required to meet a young person's needs or provide adequate reasons for its findings. Simply identifying a setting without detailing the provision is insufficient.
B&M -v- Cheshire East Council [2018] UKUT 232 (AAC)
When determining whether a young person over 18 no longer requires special educational provision, a local authority must consider whether educational or training outcomes have been achieved (Section 45(3) of the 2014 Act).
Children and Families Act 2014
A local authority may not cease to maintain an EHC plan unless it has reviewed the plan and ascertained the young person's wishes regarding returning to education or training (Regulation 30(1) of the 2014 Regulations).
Special Educational Needs Regulations 2014
Social care provision that educates or trains a child or young person is treated as special educational provision (Section 21(5) of the 2014 Act).
Children and Families Act 2014
Outcomes
The Upper Tribunal allowed the appeal.
The First-tier Tribunal erred in law by failing to adequately identify the special educational provision O required, focusing on the setting rather than the provision, and failing to ascertain O's views on returning to education or training as required by Regulation 30(1).
The FTT's decision was set aside.
The FTT's decision was deemed to be made in error of law.
The case was remitted to a new FTT panel for reconsideration.
To ensure a proper consideration of O's needs and compliance with relevant legislation.