Summary: Miss X complains about the Council’s provision of school transport for her daughter. She cancelled the service and is put to time and trouble transporting her daughter herself. The Ombudsman finds no fault causing injustice in how the Council dealt with Miss X’s complaints.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s provision of school transport for her daughter, Y. She says the Council refused to allow Y to travel in her electric wheelchair. And, it failed to ensure there was always a Passenger Assistant available to administer medication. Miss X says she had to cancel the service and now takes Y to college herself, putting her to time and trouble and limiting her opportunity to get a job.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke to Miss X and I reviewed documents provided by Miss X and the Council. I gave Miss X and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

6. The Council has provided a copy of its SEN travel assistance policy dated March 2018.
7. This says the SEND service will decide whether to offer assistance with transport. The Passenger Transport Unit will then make travel arrangements. If appropriate, it will provide an adult carer (Passenger Assistant). Passenger Assistants are not allowed to administer medication.

What happened

8. The Council provided home to school transport for Y.
9. In March 2018 Miss X asked the Council if it could provide a Passenger Assistant (“PA”) to administer medication to Y in an emergency. The Council agreed to source and train a PA and asked Miss X if she was happy for Y to travel without this support in the meantime. Miss X said she was.
10. In June the Council told Miss X the now trained PA was not always available. It asked whether she agreed for Y to travel without this support on occasion or if she would make her own arrangements. Miss X agreed Y could travel without the PA if necessary.
11. In October Miss X complained to the Council that it would not allow Y to travel using her electric wheelchair.
12. In November the Council explained to Miss X that its Specialist Transport Advisor did not consider it safe for Y to travel in her electric wheelchair and Y’s school supported this decision. It said the school would help Y develop her ability to operate the electric wheelchair. It asked that Y continue to travel in her manual wheelchair in the short term while preparing for the long term aim of being able to travel in the electric chair.
13. At the end of November Miss X complained to the Council that the PA had refused to carry medication since the start of the term and she questioned why Y could not travel using her electric wheelchair. She said she had now cancelled the transport service.
14. The Council told Miss X it was previously unaware the PA has refused to carry medication and the PA had since left so it could not investigate further. It asked Miss X to clarify whether the Council needed to provide a PA when making any future request for transport, as she had given inconsistent views on whether one was necessary. It said it had previously explained why Y could not travel using the electric wheelchair.
15. In response to my enquiries the Council provided a statement from its Transport Advisor. This says:
• Y’s school confirmed she was not competent in operating the electric wheelchair herself.
• The size of the electric wheelchair meant there was no room on the tail lift for a PA/driver to accompany the chair on the lift.
• Those using powered chairs must be competent in order to be in control while on the lift and when entering the vehicle.
• Due to the weight of the chair it was not appropriate for the PA to take it to the vehicle and put it on the lift.
• He therefore decided the powered chair would not be acceptable on the transport.

Findings

16. The Council’s policy says PAs cannot administer medication however the Council exercised discretion and agreed to train a PA to carry Y’s medication. Although Miss X says the PA later refused to carry medication, I note she cancelled the transport service before allowing the Council the opportunity to investigate and resolve this. I therefore find no fault causing injustice.
17. The Council decided it was not safe for Y to travel using her electric wheelchair until she was competent in operating it. I cannot say the Council’s decision was wrong; I must consider whether there was fault in the way it reached that decision. The Council appears to have given the matter proper consideration and there is nothing to suggest it failed to consider information that was relevant and available at the time. I therefore find no fault in how the Council reached its decision.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation. This is because I find no fault causing injustice in how the Council dealt with Miss X’s complaints about transport.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman