Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a Council consultation on school reorganisation. The final decision has not been made, it is reasonable to expect Mr X to comment during the next stage of the process and he has not suffered any significant injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council has failed to consult properly on a school reorganisation proposal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word 'fault' to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Mr X provided with his complaint. Mr X had the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

4. The Council started a consultation period on the future of two schools. It consulted between October and December 2019. The Council’s cabinet is to consider the results of the consultation in early March.
5. The Council’s consultation is about whether one infant school should close and another expand. The proposals do not suggest a site will be lost.
6. Mr X says the Council is not consulting properly. He says the Council’s mind is already made up. He says one of the schools involved does not support the proposal.
7. Government guidance sets out what a Council must do when considering reorganising schools. Following a consultation period, the Council is to make a decision. It then publishes a formal proposal. There is then a representation period, when people can formally comment on the formal proposals. The Council then has to consider those representations before making a final decision. Specific bodies can appeal the final decision to the Schools Adjudicator.
8. Mr X’s complaint is about the first stage in this process. He commented during the consultation process. The Council has those comments to consider. No decision has been made yet.
9. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to comment further during the representation stage should the Council decide to proceed and issue a formal proposal.
10. At this moment Mr X has suffered no significant injustice by the allegations he makes about the proposals.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has suffered no significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman