Merton Council has apologised to a father and paid hin £750 following a ‘serious injustice’ affecting his son, who has special needs.

The payment and apology came after an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The father, named only as Mr B, complained that the council failed increase speech and language provision for his son between 2015 and 2017.

He also claimed that the council took too long issuing an education, health and care plan for the child.

In a report the Ombudsman said that in 2015 speech and language provision for Mr B’s son should have been increased by the council but there was no evidence to show this happened.

“That is a serious injustice which was only mitigated by the fact Mr B funded speech and language therapy support for his son over and above what was provided in school,” the report said.

“As remedy the council has agreed to apologise to Mr B and pay him £750 to reflect the lost sessions and time and trouble Mr B had to go to pursuing his complaint.”

A council spokeswoman said: “It is important to us that the needs of children with an Education, Health and Care Plan are met as outlined in their plan and in this case we have apologised to the family for any failures in the service they received.

“Following the ombudsman’s recommendations, we have made improvements to our service to ensure that the lessons are learned.”