HAMPSHIRE County Council has been critici-sed by the Local Government Ombudsman for failing to provide speech and language therapy to a boy with special educational needs (SEN).

The Ombudsman, Jerry White, made the criticism in his investigation of a complaint against the council regarding the special educational needs of a boy with Down's syndrome.

Mr White stated the council - the local education author-ity - failed in its duty to ensure the boy received any input from a speech and language therapist in 2002.

The boy - who has not been named for legal reasons - had a SEN statement that required him to be visited four times a term by a speech and language therapist, provided by the relevant Primary Care Trust (PCT).

However, this did not happen because the therapist dealing with his school retired in April 2002 and was not replaced until November. The therapist had last visited the boy in late 2001.

His mother believed he developed a stammer as a result, the report said, although she also thought her son had otherwise "progressed well in the area of language and communications".

Mr White stated the law places a duty upon the council to ensure that provision was made. Because it wasn't, Mr White found this to be maladministration on the part of the county council.

The council admitted it did not make the provision required, the report said. It will now send copies of statements requiring speech and language therapy to the PCT, rather than relying on the school to make contact.

It has also since agreed to pay £500 to make educational provisions to develop the boy's speech and language, and pay his mother £150.

Mr White considered this to be a "satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused by the maladministration".

However, he said it was difficult to assess how the absence of the therapist had affected the boy. The report stated: "We cannot tell whether the boy would have made more progress if the visits had continued.

"But I take the view that as this provision was included in his statement, then it was likely to have been beneficial, and to that extent he has suffered an injustice arising from the failure to make the provision specified.

"I am pleased the council has reviewed its procedures and grateful to it for remedying the injustice to the boy and his mother."