Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs A’s complaint that the Council was at fault in refusing her application for education transport for her son. This is because the Council upheld Mrs A’s appeal against the decision and investigation would achieve nothing further.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs A, complains that the Council was at fault in refusing her application for education transport for her son.

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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 investigation will lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mrs A has said in support of her complaint.

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What I found

4. The Council refused Mrs A’s application for education transport for her son. Mrs A says transport was required to allow her son to attend post-16 education. She believes the Council’s decision was unreasonable.
5. At the point at which Mrs A complained to the Ombudsman the matter was still within the Council’s review and appeal procedure. Her appeal was subsequently upheld and the Council agreed to provide transport.
6. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs A’s complaint. Her appeal has been allowed and the Ombudsman’s intervention would not achieve anything further.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because investigation by the Ombudsman would achieve nothing significant.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman