Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse the complainant’s application for school transport. This is because it is unlikely he will find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained about the Council’s decision to refuse her application for free transport to and from school for her daughter Y.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

4. Councils have a duty to provide free home to school transport for pupils in certain circumstances. The government issued statutory guidance to local authorities on home to school travel and transport in July 2014. This says local authorities must provide free home to school transport for pupils up to statutory school leaving age who live beyond walking distance to school. If the child is under 8 years old the walking distance is defined as two miles. This increases to three miles for children aged between 8 and 16 years old. However, councils are only required to provide free transport if the child is attending their nearest qualifying school. The guidance says the nearest qualifying school is the nearest school that can provide ‘education appropriate to the age, ability and aptitude of the child, and any special educational needs the child may have’.

What happened

5. Mrs X applied for a secondary school place for her daughter Y after moving into the area. Mrs X listed four schools on her application in order of preference. Y was offered a place at her third choice school. As this was her nearest school the Council also provided a free bus pass for the journey to and from school. Before Y started at the school, she was offered and accepted a place at her first choice school. However, as this school was further away from Mrs X’s home, the Council said it would not provide transport assistance.
6. Mrs X was unhappy with the Council’s decision and appealed to the transport appeal panel. She said the journey to Y’s nearest school is unsafe. She would have to take two buses and change in the town centre twice a day. The journey to the school Y will attend involves one short bus trip. Mrs X argued that it will cost the Council less to provide transport for Y to and from the school she will attend than it will be to provide transport to her nearest school.
7. The Council’s transport appeal panel considered Mrs X’s case but upheld the decision to refuse transport. Mrs X is unhappy with this decision and does not believe the impact on Y’s wellbeing has been considered.

Assessment

8. I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse her application for school transport. This is as it is unlikely the Ombudsman would find fault by the Council.
9. The Ombudsman does not act as an appeal body against school transport decisions. Instead we consider if there was fault with how a decision was made. We cannot question whether a decision was right or wrong unless there is evidence to show it was flawed.
10. Mrs X does not believe the panel properly considered Y’s wellbeing or the safety of the journey to her nearest school. But the minutes from the appeal hearing show the panel did consider Mrs X’s concerns and the information she provided. However, it decided the journey to Y’s nearest school was not unreasonable and there were no exceptional circumstances to warrant providing transport outside the Council’s policy. The panel also noted that the Council provides free transport on school buses for all pupils living in Mrs X’s area attending Y’s fourth choice school and it is likely there are places available.
11. I understand Mrs X disagrees with the decision not to provide transport to the school Y is attending. But the panel was entitled to come to a view based on the information it had. As the Council properly considered Mrs X’s concerns before deciding that Y was not attending her nearest suitable school, it is unlikely I would find fault.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely he would find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman