Rulebook · Local authority letter

Draft EHC plan and the notice sent with it

This letter comes with the draft EHC plan. The law says it must tell you that you can comment on the draft, ask for a particular school or college to be named, and ask to meet a council officer. It must give you at least 15 days to do this, and say where to find information about schools and colleges.

Plenda checks 13 things in a letter like this: 6 are required by the Act or Regulations; 7 are good practice. A draft plan must not name a school or college, or a type of school or college. A draft plan cannot be appealed. Once the final plan is sent, sections B, F and I of it can be appealed. The 15 days begin with the day the draft was served, and that day counts as day 1. The Regulations do not say when a posted or emailed draft counts as served. Counting from the day it was sent gives the earliest possible last day; counting from the day it arrived gives a later one. 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 draft plan itself (sent with the notice)Law (Act or Regulations)
• The right to comment on (make representations about) the content of the draft planLaw (Act or Regulations)
• The right to ask for a particular school or college to be named in the planLaw (Act or Regulations)
• The period for comments and requests: at least 15 days, beginning with the day the draft was servedLaw (Act or Regulations)
• The right to ask for a meeting with a council officer to discuss the draftLaw (Act or Regulations)
• Where to find information about the schools and colleges that are availableLaw (Act or Regulations)
• The date of the letterGood practice. Not required
• That the parent or young person can ask for a personal budgetGood practice. Not required
• What happens when a school or college is asked for: the council must consult itGood practice. Not required
• The advice and information gathered in the assessment (attached to the plan as section K)Good practice. Not required
• When the final plan is due (within 20 weeks of the request)Good practice. Not required
• That information and advice about special educational needs is available (for example from the local SENDIASS)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.draft_plan_notice

Rules version

england-2026.10

Law as at

30 September 2026

Sources

• Children and Families Act 2014, s 38(2)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 38(4)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 13(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 38(5)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)(c)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(3)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 13(1)(a)Law (Act or Regulations)
• Interpretation Act 1978, s 7Law (Act or Regulations), to verifyStill open: whether s 7, which applies only where an Act "authorises or requires" service by post, deems a posted draft served when it would arrive in the ordinary course of post.

Related

• Your time to comment on the draft plan and ask for a school or college
• Council sends the final EHC plan

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