Richmond Council has faced new criticism over its care of children with special educational needs.

It has been ordered by the Local Government Ombudsman to pay £1,500 over a three year delay in completing a vital support plan for a boy with 'complex, wide-ranging needs'.

The boy's mother, referred to only as Mrs X, complained the council failed to properly manage his education, which delayed her right to appeal his Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and discuss alternatives.

The finding comes after a major audit of special needs provision for children in Richmond found failings for 37 local children with these ECHP plans, including the boy in this case.

In this case, auditors found the council took more than three years to complete a plan for the boy – known as Y - and also delayed preparing associated reports.

They also found failings in communication with Y's parents which led to problems with the appeals system. The boy was also denied support with home education.

The ombudsman report said: "Mrs X says that Y has not received professional therapy or enough mentoring to meet his needs because the council has failed to properly assess those needs and research what provision best meets them. Mrs X says the Council has dismissed Mr and Mrs X's views, and Y's views on his education."

The ombudsman found the council at fault for delaying Y's transition to an EHC plan by nearly three years, when it should have taken up to 18 weeks, and missing annual reviews. The report said the failures caused 'avoidable confusion and distress'.

The council has been ordered to apologise to Mrs X and Y and pay her £1,000 on Y's behalf. The authority must also pay Mrs X a sum of £500 for the 'avoidable time, inconvenience, and stress'.

Richmond councillors have complained about government underfunding of Special Education Needs services for children in the borough.

It reported: "The Government's chronic underfunding of special needs education will see the in-year funding gap rise from £3 million in 2017/18 to £9 million by 2021/22. A cumulative debt of £26 million is expected by March 2022 even after actions identified to improve efficiency.

"The Government cannot continue to rely on our teachers, parents and children to plug the funding gap for them. There is only so much belt tightening ourselves and schools can do before the services our children rely on are severely impacted."

It has been contacted for comment on the case involving Y.