EHCPs issued by the LEA between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 - Find a freedom of information request

1. What was the total number of EHCPs issued by your LEA between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023?

2. How many of those EHCPs above between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 were issued within the statutory time frame of 20 weeks?

3. What was the longest time a child or young person waited for a plan between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 irrespective of when the request for an assessment was received?

4. How many appeals were undertaken between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023? (Appeal undertaken being defined as appeal processes started by people denied an EHCP at any stage of the assessment process.)

5. How many appeals were parents or guardians successful? (Successful appeal being defined as an EHCP being granted after initially being denied.)

6. How many annual review processes for those children and young people with EHCPs were completed within the statutory timeframes between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 (i.e 4 weeks post annual review meeting where no amendments are being made to the EHCP or 12 weeks where changes are being made to the EHCP). Please give me the number completed within the time frame and the number not completed in the time frame.

7. How many SENDIST appeals of any kind (for any reason, B, F and/or I)were lodged against your LEA between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023?

8. How many of the above SENDIST appeals of any kind (B, F and/or I) between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 were conceded by you either before or after a tribunal? (Conceded defined as the parents wishes were upheld in whole or part)

9. How many SENDIST appeals lodged against you between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 went to first tier tribunal?

10. How many of those SENDIST first tier tribunals that went ahead between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 was there a ruling against your LEA in whole or in part? (ie the parents wishes were upheld in whole or part)

11. How much did you spend on defending SENDIST tribunals and appeals between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023?

12. In how many of the SENDIST tribunals or appeals between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 did you engage a solicitor or barrister rather than handling in house with LEA officers?

13. What is the current wait you advise parents or guardians of, for a SENDIST tribunal ?

Please break this down into how many parents or guardians have waited between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023
Less than 3 months
3- 6 months
More than 6 months
Over a year

14. How many children or young people between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 who have an EHCP who have a specialist school by type named in section i, do not have an education setting named in section i - ie are not in specialist provision despite agreement that they are eligible?

15. How many children with SEND in your LEA are currently without a school place?

16. How many children and young people in the years 1 April 2019 to 1 April 2020, 1 April 2020 to 1 April 2021 and 1 April 2021 to 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2022 to 1 April 2023 had an EOTAS (Education Other Than At School) arrangement? (For the sake of clarity, this would be where a formal EOTAS arrangement is in place which is reflected in Section F and Section I (which should be blank) of the EHCP)

17. How many exclusions in schools within your county between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023 have involved children and young people with SEND (whether they have an EHCP or not?)

18. How many parents or guardians of children and young people with SEND have you issued with fines for non attendance of school between 1 April 2019 to 1 April 2020, 1 April 2020 to 1 April 2021 and 1 April 2021 to 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023?

I can confirm that the information requested is held by Lincolnshire County Council. I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

1. 766

2. 721

3. 327 day from request to plan

4. Between 01/04/22 – 01/04/23 there were 88 SEND appeals submitted to the FTT.

These break down as follows:

Appeal against LA declining to complete EHCNA - 15

Appeal against LA completing EHCNA but not issuing an EHCP - 3

Appeal in relations to any combination on sections B,F,I - 69

Appeal against LA's decision to Cease to maintain EHCP – 1

5. The 88 appeals were resolved as follows:

Appeals still outstanding, yet to be resolved – 42

Concluded by consent or withdrawal by parent – 41

Appeal transferred to another LA – 1

Tribunal ruled in parent's favour – 2

Tribunal ruled in LA's favour – 2

6. Where amendments were not required, 100 outcomes were shared within the 4-week timescale and 126 were not. Where amendments were required, 1868 were issued within the 12-week timescale and 1270 were not.

7. See answer to question 4 above

8. Conceded by LA in part - 1

Conceded by LA – 24

Concluded by Consent between parties – 14

Appeals still outstanding - 35

9. Appeals which went to a final hearing - 16

10. Decisions wholly or partly against LA: 4

Please note some appeals went to a final hearing where they were concluded by agreement between the parties

11. The legal spend for 2022/23 is £47,922.50

12. 88 – a solicitor is engaged in all appeals.

13. The LA do not advise parents regarding the time it will take for an appeal to be finalised

14. To find and collate this information would take longer than the 18 hours allowed for an FOI request under section 12 (1) of the FOI Act 2000 .

15. 113 currently recorded as ‘Not in school’

16. See response to question 14.

17. 953 exclusions for those with an EHCP, 3835 exclusions for those with SEN support

18. No information held