Hertfordshire County Council (19 010 814)
Category : Education > School transport
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Nov 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint that the Council has refused to issue a discount travel card to his granddaughter. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr A, complains that the Council has refused to issue a discount travel card to his granddaughter for her journey to college.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr A has said in support of his complaint and the Council’s response.
What I found
- Mr A’s granddaughter attends college in the Council’s area but lives in the area of another authority. Mr A complains that the Council has refused to issue her a travel card which would entitle her to discounted public transport. He wants the Council to issue her a card and refund the extra cost incurred so far.
- In response the Council has pointed out that only its residents are entitled to the travel card. It further points out that that entitlement to discretionary education transport assistance is a matter for Mr A’s home authority and it owes no transport duty to his granddaughter.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part. Eligibility for the travel card is clear and there is no indication that the Council is at fault in how it has applied it in this case. There are no grounds for the Ombudsman to intervene.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman