Rulebook · Decision or problem

The council refused to carry out an EHC needs assessment

The council has decided not to carry out an EHC needs assessment. This decision can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal. Before appealing, the law requires a certificate from the mediation adviser named in the letter. Going to mediation is a choice. The appeal must reach the Tribunal by 5pm on the last day. That is 2 months after the letter was sent, or 1 month after the certificate if that is later.

The legal test is in section 36(8): whether the child or young person has or may have special educational needs, and whether it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan. The Upper Tribunal has said this is a lower test than the test for issuing a plan. The decision letter must give the council's reasons. It must also give information about the right to appeal, the time limit, mediation, disagreement resolution and where to get information and advice. In an appeal against a refusal to assess, the Tribunal cannot make recommendations about health or social care. A new request can be made, but it does not stop the clock for appealing this decision. If the council refuses again, that is a new decision with its own right of appeal and its own time limit. Judicial review is a court route for questions of law. Where an appeal can deal with the problem, the court normally expects the appeal to be used.

Appeal right: yes, an appeal to the SEND Tribunal (Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)(a)).

Ways to take this further

Listed in the order the rules give them. The order is not a ranking.

• Contact the mediation adviser (needed before most appeals)
• Mediation with the council
• Appeal to the SEND Tribunal
• Talk to the council: a meeting, or asking for reasons in writing
• Disagreement resolution service
• A new request for an assessment or re-assessment
• Formal complaint to the council
• Judicial review (after a pre-action letter)

Type of rule

Law (Act or Regulations)This is the law, set by an Act of Parliament or by Regulations.

Rule id

issue.refused_assessment

Rules version

england-2026.10

Law as at

30 September 2026

Sources

• Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)(a)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 55(3)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (HESC Chamber) Rules 2008, r 20(1)(c)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 36(8)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Cambridgeshire County Council v FL-J [2016] UKUT 225 (AAC)Case law, to verifyStill to confirm the citation, the holding, that the decision has not been overturned on appeal, and that it is treated as binding on the First-tier Tribunal.
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 36(5)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 5(3)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND (First-tier Tribunal Recommendations Power) Regulations 2017Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 36(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
• R (Glencore Energy UK Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2017] EWCA Civ 1716, at [55] to [56]Case law, to verifyStill to confirm the citation and the holding at [55] to [56] (Sales LJ, with whom Singh LJ agreed; the court was Gloster LJ, Sales LJ and Singh LJ) that judicial review is ordinarily a remedy of last resort where a suitable alternative remedy, such as a right of appeal, exists, and that the decision has not been overturned.
• Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review, para 5Official guidance

Related

• Last day to contact a mediation adviser (needed before most appeals)
• Last day to appeal to the SEND Tribunal
• EHC needs assessment
• The legal test for an EHC needs assessment (section 36(8))
• Decisions that can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal

See the ways to challenge

The whole rulebook