Summary: The Ombudsman exercised discretion to discontinue the investigation of Miss L’s complaint about the appeal panel’s failure to follow procedure and consider her evidence when it rejected her appeal against the Council’s decision to refuse her daughter a place at her preferred school. Had our investigation continued and found fault, we could not remedy any injustice it caused. This is because Miss L accepted the Council’s recent offer of a place at the school.

The complaint

1. Miss L complains the appeal panel failed to follow procedure and consider her evidence properly when she appealed the Council’s decision to refuse her application for her daughter to go to her preferred school; as a result, she and her daughter are anxious and stressed about its decision as she will be going to an all-girls school further away.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
3. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered all the information Miss L sent and the notes I made of our telephone conversation.

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What I found

5. Miss L applied for her daughter to start in September 2021 in year 7 at her preferred school. The Council, as admission authority, refused her a place because it received more applications than the school had places. Miss L appealed this decision to an independent appeal panel.
6. She is unhappy with the clerk to the appeal panel as he failed to pass her questions on to the school, the Council, and the appeal panel. She also claims the clerk failed to pass on medical evidence she sent in support of her appeal.
7. During our telephone conversation about the complaint, Miss L explained the Council recently offered her daughter a place at the preferred school which she accepted.
8. I have now exercised discretion not investigate her complaint further. This is because had we continued to investigate the complaint, and found fault causing her an injustice, our usual recommended remedy is for the Council to re-arrange a new hearing. This allows a complainant to have their appeal heard properly without the fault found. If Miss L succeeded with this new appeal, her daughter would have been offered a place at the preferred school.
9. As her daughter now has a place at the school, there is no outstanding injustice to remedy even if we had found fault.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman exercised discretion not to pursue the investigation of Miss L’s complaint against the Council further. This is because we can achieve no worthwhile outcome even if we did find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman