EHCP timescales in Cheshire West and Chester
If you are waiting on an EHC plan in Cheshire West and Chester, here is the council's actual record on EHCP timescales, from the Department for Education's own figures, and what the law entitles you to no matter what those figures say.
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22.1%
of new EHC plans issued within the legal 20 weeks (England: 46.1%)
4,395
children and young people in Cheshire West and Chester have an EHC plan
40.5%
of requests for an assessment were refused (England: 26.6%)
What these numbers mean for your family
Cheshire West and Chester issued only 22.1% of new plans inside the legal 20 week limit, below the England average of 46.1%. If your case is running late here, you are in the majority, and the law is still fully on your side.
On 20 week timeliness, Cheshire West and Chester ranks 123 of 149 English councils that published a figure for this period, and 47 of 57 unitary authorities. Based on the published rate, roughly 679 of the 871 new plans issued here arrived after the legal deadline.
Cheshire West and Chester's EHCP record, line by line
| Measure | Cheshire West and Chester | England |
|---|---|---|
| Children and young people with an EHC plan (January 2026) | 4,395 | 718,838 |
| Requests for an EHC needs assessment received | 1,029 | 162,702 |
| Requests refused at the first decision | 40.5% (about 417 requests) | 26.6% |
| Requests that went forward | about 612 | – |
| New plans issued in the year | 871 | 110,708 |
| New plans issued within 20 weeks (excluding lawful exceptions) | 22.1% | 46.1% |
| New plans issued within 20 weeks (including exception cases) | 22.1% | 45.5% |
| New plans estimated to have arrived late | about 679 | – |
1,029 families in Cheshire West and Chester asked for an assessment in one year. 40.5% were refused at the first hurdle. That refusal rate is well above the England average of 26.6%. A first refusal in Cheshire West and Chester says more about local decision-making than about your child. Refusal-to-assess decisions are also the most commonly overturned on appeal, so a refusal here is worth challenging. If that has happened to you, read what to do when the council refuses, and remember the refusal letter must set out your appeal rights.
Work out where your own case stands
Council averages tell you what usually happens across the whole area. Your case runs on its own dates. Put in the dates from your letters and we will work out every deadline that applies to your child, with the regulation next to each one.
How Cheshire West and Chester compares with other unitary authorities
Raw comparisons between a small unitary authority and a huge county can mislead, so this table compares Cheshire West and Chester only with other unitary authorities: the strongest three, the weakest three, and Cheshire West and Chester itself.
| Council | Plans in 20 weeks | Requests refused |
|---|---|---|
| Bracknell Forest | 100% | 60.5% |
| Isles of Scilly | 100% | 33.3% |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 100% | 45.5% |
| Cheshire West and Chester (this page) | 22.1% | 40.5% |
| West Northamptonshire | 7.9% | 39.9% |
| Bristol, City of | 6.8% | 16.2% |
| Cumberland | 6.7% | 36.6% |
The law is identical everywhere, so the gap between the top and bottom of that table reflects local staffing, educational psychologist capacity and management choices. The national picture behind it is in our guide to EHCP delays across England.
The clocks that apply in Cheshire West and Chester, exactly as everywhere in England
EHCP deadlines are set in national law. A backlog, staff shortages or high demand in Cheshire West and Chester do not pause these clocks. Only four narrow statutory exceptions can, and they are rare: our guide to the 20 week deadline explains each one.
| Stage | Deadline | The law |
|---|---|---|
| Council decides whether to assess | 6 weeks from your request | Reg 5(1) |
| Council tells you it will not issue a plan (if it assessed) | 16 weeks from your request | Reg 10(1) |
| Your window to respond to a draft plan | At least 15 days | Reg 13(1) |
| Final EHC plan issued | 20 weeks from your request | Reg 13(2) |
| Annual review of an existing plan | Within 12 months of the plan or last review | CFA 2014, s.44(1) |
| Your appeal window after an appealable decision | 2 months from the decision, or 1 month from a mediation certificate | Tribunal Rules, r.20(1)(c) |
If you are thinking about challenging a decision, we have a separate page on appealing an EHCP decision in Cheshire West and Chester, with how often families here appeal and how the deadline is worked out.
Already holding a plan? The annual review has its own clock, and the council must tell you what it has decided within 4 weeks of the review meeting. Cheshire West and Chester met that deadline in 21.3% of cases in 2025. See annual reviews in Cheshire West and Chester.
Keep these deadlines somewhere you can find them
We will email you the six deadlines above with the regulation behind each one, so you have them when you need to quote them to Cheshire West and Chester. After that, a short series on what to do when a deadline passes. Free, and one click to stop.
Where are you in the process? Start here
- Thinking about applying. The legal bar for asking is low on purpose. The free eligibility checker maps your child's situation onto the legal test in two minutes, and the application guide walks you through the request letter.
- Waiting for a decision or a plan. Put your dates into the free deadline checker. It shows every clock in your case, with the regulation cited, and tells you the day something becomes late.
- Refused. 40.5% of requests here end in a first refusal, and refusals are the most successfully appealed decision of all. Start with the refusal guide and the free challenge letter template.
- Past a deadline. Do not wait politely. Follow the escalation steps: a dated chase letter, a formal complaint, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which regularly upholds EHCP delay complaints and can recommend financial remedies.
- Holding a draft plan. You have at least 15 days to respond. The free wording checker flags the vague phrases that make support unenforceable, with the wording to ask for instead.
Case Manager works out each of these deadlines from your dates and emails you seven days and one day before each one. Sign up for Case Manager
Free advice in Cheshire West and Chester
Every council area has a SENDIASS: a free, statutory information and advice service for SEND families, independent of the council's casework team. Find the Cheshire West and Chester SENDIASS here. The council must also publish a Local Offer setting out the SEND support available locally: search "Cheshire West and Chester local offer" to find it. For legal advice on an individual case, IPSEA is free and expert.
Common questions in Cheshire West and Chester
How long should an EHCP take in Cheshire West and Chester?
The law is the same everywhere in England: 20 weeks from the request to the final plan (SEND Regulations 2014, reg 13(2)), with a decision on whether to assess within 6 weeks (reg 5(1)). In practice Cheshire West and Chester issued 22.1% of new plans inside 20 weeks in this reporting year. Local performance never changes your legal rights.
How many children in Cheshire West and Chester have an EHC plan?
4,395 children and young people in Cheshire West and Chester had an EHC plan as at January 2026, out of 718,838 across England (Department for Education). The council issued 871 new plans in the year covered by this data.
What percentage of EHCP requests does Cheshire West and Chester refuse?
Cheshire West and Chester refused 40.5% of the 1,029 requests for an EHC needs assessment it received in this period, against an England average of 26.6%. That is roughly 417 families told no at the first step. A refusal can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal, and refusal-to-assess appeals are the most commonly successful appeal type.
What can I do if my EHCP is late in Cheshire West and Chester?
First confirm the breach with exact dates, then write to the council citing the regulation, then escalate to a formal complaint and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman if needed. The Ombudsman regularly upholds EHCP delay complaints and can recommend financial remedies. Our free deadline checker gives you the exact dates, and our escalation guide gives you the steps and letters.
Who gives free EHCP advice in Cheshire West and Chester?
Every council area has a SENDIASS, a free and statutory SEND information and advice service, and Cheshire West and Chester must also publish a Local Offer describing local SEND support. Nationally, IPSEA gives free legal advice on EHCP cases. All of them are free, and all of them sit outside the council's SEND casework team.
Source: Department for Education (DfE) / Explore Education Statistics, Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2026 (published 2026-06-25). Timeliness is the percentage of new plans issued within 20 weeks excluding lawful exceptions. Figures cover the2025 calendar-year cohort reported in the 2026 release; caseload is as at January 2026. Figures marked "about" are estimates calculated from the published rates. This page updates when the DfE publishes new data. See the official dataset.
The law is the same for every council in England. Case Manager applies it to your dates: it works out each deadline, emails you seven days and one day before, and has the complaint letter ready if the council misses one. One subscription covers up to four children.
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