Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse a scholarship. This is because there is not enough fault to justify our investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council refused his son, Y, a scholarship. Mr X complained that this was unjust. Mr X has said this has negatively affected Y’s motivation and caused frustration.

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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 impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X’s son Y applied for a scholarship through the Council. He made it to the final stages where an interview occurred but was not successful. Mr X believed this to be unjust and made an appeal for further information through his MP in September 2024.
6. In October 2024, the Council responded to the MP explaining that the scholarships were limited and competitive, whilst Y performed well in the interview, other applicants scored higher.
7. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.
8. In this case, I do consider the process being followed correctly and therefore there is not enough fault to justify our investigation
9. In January 2025, Mr X reiterated his complaint through the Council’s formal complaints system. The Council did not respond to this.
10. Whilst the Council did not respond to Mr X’s complaint in January, I consider his complaint the same as the one raised in September which they did respond to. The Council’s position remains the same.
11. I will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we decide not to investigate the substantive issue.
12. The Council has stated in future it will develop a formal appeals process for the scholarship in the future to assist in handling challenges from applicants.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough fault to justify our investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman