1. How many official complaints have been made about the 0-25 team to Devon County Council (DCC) customer relations team since September 2021? Please provide monthly numbers.
| Sep-21 | 6 |
| Oct-21 | 7 |
| Nov-21 | 10 |
| Dec-21 | 3 |
| Jan-22 | 6 |
| Feb-22 | 8 |
| Mar-22 | 18 |
| Apr-22 | 12 |
| May-22 | 11 |
| Jun-22 | 13 |
| Jul-22 | 12 |
| Aug-22 | 7 |
| Sep-22 | 14 |
| Oct-22 | 14 |
2. How many of these complaints have been escalated to the Local Government Ombudsman?
The Ombudsman accepted 12 complaints regarding the SEN 0-25 team for investigation between September 2021 and October 2022.
3. How many SENDIST First Tier Tribunal appeals have been registered against DCC since September 2021? Please provide monthly numbers for the different types of appeals I.e. refusal to assess, contents of EHCP, placement.
| Refusal to assess | Refusal to issue | Content of EHCP | Placement only | Refusal to amend | Refusal to re-assess | Cease to maintain | Total | |
| Sep-21 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Oct-21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Nov-21 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Dec-21 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Jan-22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Feb-22 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Mar-22 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Apr-22 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| May-22 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Jun-22 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 |
| Jul-22 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Aug-22 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| Sep-22 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Oct-22 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
| Nov-22 (as of 11/11) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Total | 211 |
4. How much has DCC spent on responding to SENDIST First Tier Tribunal appeals over the last year? Please provide monthly numbers.
DCC do not hold this information because we do not record time or money spent on responding to appeals. The local authority must respond to all Tribunal Appeals. The local authority is acutely aware of its duty to the Court and all children and young people in Devon. Responses are formulated as part of the normal work of the SEN 0-25 Team and involves case work from officers in many different teams across the local authority as well as specialist services. The local authority considers that work on behalf of young people involved in an appeal to the SEND Tribunal is an integral part of the work of the 0-25 Team. For these reasons it does not separate out funding associated with providing information to the SEN Tribunal.
5. How much time has been spent by DCC staff on SENDIST appeal EH878/21/00115?
Please refer to the response to Q4
6. How much has it cost DCC?
Please refer to the response to Q4