Staffordshire County Council (19 014 232)

Statement Upheld School transport 23-Nov-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains on behalf of Ms M about the Council’s decision to remove all public bus services that run at school times, from Village 1 to Village 2. She said that the walking route to the School is unsafe and the Council has failed to address concerns about the dangers and risk to children when considering her appeal. The Ombudsman finds fault in the Council’s appeal process and recommends a remedy for the injustice.

Rutland County Council (19 019 587)

Statement Upheld School transport 20-Nov-2020

Summary: The complainant, Mrs Y, complains about the Council’s decision to refuse the application for her son, C, to receive a blue badge. The Ombudsman finds the Council did not follow government guidance when considering C's application. Its decision-making also lacked impartiality and transparency. The Council will assess C’s application again, apologise to Mrs Y for the avoidable time and trouble she experienced and arrange refresher training for the officers making blue badge decisions.

Warwickshire County Council (20 005 848)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries School transport 16-Nov-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to award home to school transport. It is unlikely we would find fault.

Gloucestershire County Council (19 017 243)

Statement Not upheld School transport 11-Nov-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot intervene in an appeal panel’s decision not to award school transport as there was no fault in the way this decision was made.

Nottingham City Council (18 018 188)

Report Upheld School transport 10-Nov-2020

Summary: Miss B complains that; the Council unreasonably refused to provide home to school transport for her son C to his previous school and the special academy for pupils with moderate learning difficulties named in his Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP); the Council failed to take proper account of the difficulty C has walking long distances due to his hypermobility, or his diagnoses of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) which make it difficult for him to use regular public transport; as a result, in order to get C to and from school, she has had to pay £400 a month to take C in a private taxi; this put her into debt on her utility bills and she was no longer able to afford the cost of a taxi for C; and  this in turn has severely affected his school attendance and his social and educational development.

Suffolk County Council (20 003 162)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries School transport 04-Nov-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse the complainant’s application for school transport. This is because it is unlikely an investigation by the Ombudsman would result in a different outcome or achieve anything more for the complainant.

Surrey County Council (19 016 358)

Report Upheld School transport 04-Nov-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to tell her she had to apply for post 16 transport for her son, Y, causing her financial loss and Y to miss the start of school.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council (19 018 329)

Statement Upheld School transport 04-Nov-2020

Summary: Mrs F complained the Council failed to consider her daughter G’s special educational needs when deciding not to provide her with transport to school. This had caused distress and time and trouble to the family. The investigation has found evidence of fault leading to injustice. The Council has accepted a remedy and has agreed to hold a fresh Stage Two appeal hearing in line with the relevant statutory guidance.

London Borough of Bromley (19 018 832)

Statement Upheld School transport 26-Oct-2020

Summary: Miss B complains the Council has refused to provide home to school travel assistance for her child, who has special educational needs. We uphold the complaint, finding the Council cannot show it properly considered information provided to it by Miss B in January 2020. This has caused uncertainty and put Miss B to unnecessary time and trouble. At the end of this statement we recommend action the Council should take to remedy this injustice, including considering Miss B’s application afresh.

Kent County Council (19 018 937)

Statement Upheld School transport 22-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s decision to refuse transport assistance to his two children, causing him to incur costs and causing his children distress. The Ombudsman finds no fault in the decision making process but finds the Council did not provide clear information in its policy and did not promptly inform Mr X of his right to appeal, causing injustice. The Ombudsman recommends the Council provides an apology, makes a payment and acts to prevent recurrence.