Kingston Upon Hull City Council (25 006 865)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to issue fixed penalty notices for children not attending school. Mr X had the option of not paying and, if the Council prosecuted him, he could have argued his case in court. The law prevents us investigating the school’s refusal to authorise the children’s absence.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council issued fixed penalty notices (FPN) for three children not attending school. He says the school did not consider the reason for the children’s absence and anyway he is the step-parent, not parent, of one of the children.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says the Council and the school have not considered the reason for the children not attending school. The school, not the Council, refused to authorise the absence and decided to tell the Council. We cannot investigate that, as paragraph 3 explained.
- The Council issued the FPNs. Mr X may decide not to pay the FPN, and the Council will then decide whether to prosecute him. If the Council does not prosecute him, he will not need to pay. If the Council prosecutes Mr X, he can raise a defence about the FPN in court if he believes it has been issued in error.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman