Summary: Mrs B complained to us in 2016 about the Council’s decision to refuse her younger daughter, C, home to school transport to the secondary school that she attends (reference: 16 008 920). We found that the Council’s policy did not comply with the Home to school travel and transport guidance, and it should have offered C home to school transport. The Council agreed to provide home to school transport for C to her present school from the date of our decision; reimburse Mrs B for the actual home to school transport costs she incurred for C from September 2016 (up to a maximum of £700); and maintain its current Home to School Transport Policy for the present but review it within three months in light of our guidance. Mrs B complains that the Council has failed to carry out the agreed actions.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To remedy Mrs B’s injustice, we recommend the Council:

• continues to provide home to school transport for C to her present school;
• reimburses Mrs B for the actual home to school transport costs she incurred for C for 2016/17 and 2017/18;
• pays Mrs B £100 as a remedy for the injustice caused by the delay in undertaking the agreed settlement;
• pays Mrs B interest based on the increase in the Retail Price Index on the transport costs incurred for 2016/17 from the decision date on complaint reference 16 008 920, and for 2017/18 based on the dates that Mrs B made payments for school transport; and
• amends its Home to School Transport Policy to take into consideration the availability of places where the applicant applied for the nearest school at the time of the original admission application (regardless of preference rank).

Further report

We have written this further report because the Council has so far refused to comply with some recommendations made in our report issued on 13 March 2019. The recommendations were made to remedy the injustice caused as a result of fault by the Council. We are not satisfied with its response. We have therefore issued this further report to highlight the continuing concerns about the Council’s failure to fully acknowledge its faults and remedy the injustice caused to the complainant. We are also issuing this further report to prevent the Council causing injustice to others in future as a result of similar faults.

Recommendations

To remedy the injustice caused to Mrs B and her family and others who may be affected, the Council should ensure full compliance with the recommendations set out in the original report and provide evidence of this without delay. The recommendations which remain outstanding are that the Council:

• reimburse Mrs B for the actual home to school transport costs she incurred for C for 2016/17 together with interest based on the increase in the Retail Price Index from September 2017; and
• amend its Home to School Transport Policy to take into consideration the availability of places where the applicant applied for the nearest school at the time of the original admission application (regardless of preference rank).

Ombudsman satisfied with the council's response: 30 September 2020

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