Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the decision not to fund her daughter’s school transport. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because the matter has been decided at tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about the decision not to fund her daughter’s school transport. The matter was decided at tribunal. Miss X says they felt pushed into agreeing to transport their daughter to and from school themselves at the tribunal and that the Council was economical with the truth about the cost of it providing transport.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss X complained to the Council about the decision not to fund her daughter’s school transport. The matter was decided at tribunal.
8. The Council told Miss X its complaints procedure cannot be used to appeal the tribunal’s decision. It signposted Miss X to this office and to the tribunal appeal process should she wish to appeal its decision.
9. We cannot investigate this complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction. This is because the matter has already been decided at tribunal.

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because this matter has been decided by the tribunal. This means we cannot consider it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman