Rulebook · Local authority letter

Decision to carry out an EHC needs assessment

This letter says the council will carry out an EHC needs assessment. The law mainly requires the council to tell you its decision within 6 weeks of the request. A helpful letter also says who will be asked for advice, how you and your child can give your views, what happens next and by when, and who to contact.

Plenda checks 10 things in a letter like this: 1 is required by the Act or Regulations; 9 are good practice. There is no appeal against a decision to assess. The next decision that can be appealed comes after the assessment: either a decision not to issue a plan, or the final plan itself. Plenda does not say what effect a gap in a letter has on the decision. A gap can still matter: it can be raised with the council or in a complaint and, where the decision can be appealed, it may be relevant to a late appeal, because the Tribunal decides whether to accept one. This check compares the text supplied with what the law requires in a letter like this, and with good practice. It does not judge whether the decision itself is right.

What a letter like this includes

• The decision: the council will carry out an EHC needs assessmentLaw (Act or Regulations)
• The date of the letterGood practice. Not required
• Who the council will ask for advice and information (for example the school or setting, an educational psychologist, health and social care)Good practice. Not required
• That the parent or young person can ask the council to get advice from someone else (if the request is reasonable)Good practice. Not required
• How the child and parent, or the young person, can give their views, wishes and feelingsGood practice. Not required
• The timescale: a decision on whether to issue a plan, and any final plan, within the legal time limitsGood practice. Not required
• That information and advice about special educational needs is available (for example from the local SENDIASS)Good practice. Not required
• The date the request was received (the 6 weeks count from it)Good practice. Not required
• Who else has been told of the decision (the law requires the council to tell the school or setting, health services and social care it notified earlier)Good practice. Not required
• A named person at the council to contact, with a phone number or emailGood practice. Not required

Type of rule

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

Rule id

notice.decision_to_assess

Rules version

england-2026.10

Law as at

30 September 2026

Sources

• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 5(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 5(2)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 6(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 36(8)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)(b)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)(c)Law (Act or Regulations)

Related

• Council decides whether to assess
• Advice from a professional or service
• Council decides whether to issue a plan (shown by a draft plan, or a decision not to issue)
• Council sends the final EHC plan

Check a letter

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