Rulebook · Time limit
First review after re-assessment
After a re-assessment, the council must review the plan within 12 months of sending the finalised plan.
- How it is counted
- Within 12 months of the day the finalised plan was sent: the same date 12 months later, or the last day of a shorter month.
- Whose date it is
- The council
- What starts it
- The council sent the plan after re-assessment, or its decision not to amend
- What counts as done
- The annual review meeting (held or planned), or The last annual review meeting for the plan
- What stops it, with nothing more due
- The plan transferred to a new council after a move
- Type of rule
- Law (Act or Regulations)
- Rule id
review_after_reassessment- Rules version
- england-2026.10
- Law as at
- 30 September 2026
This applies only if the council amended or replaced the plan after the re-assessment (reg 27(4)). If it decided not to amend, the next review is due within the 12 months starting with the date the plan was made or last reviewed (CFA 2014 s 44(1)), so the date may be earlier.
If the date passes
The plan stays in force: it does not lapse or end because a review is late. The council still has to review it.
Steps people often take:
- Write to the council's SEN team, say which time limit has passed, and ask when it will be done.
- Make a formal complaint through the council's complaints process.
- If that does not resolve it, complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which looks at delay.
- For serious delay, a solicitor can send a pre-action letter before a judicial review claim, which must be brought promptly and within 3 months.
Your own deadlines do not change because the council is late.
Sources
- SEND Regulations 2014, reg 27(4)Law (Act or Regulations)
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 44(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
If you think this rule is wrong or out of date, please tell us. A person reads every report.