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

The complaint

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

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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)
3. 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

4. I have considered the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Miss X to comment on a draft of this decision and considered the comments she made in response.

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What I found

5. 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’.
6. The Council’s school transport policy says it can exercise its discretion to provide transport, outside of the requirements in its policy, in certain circumstances.

What happened

7. In April 2019, Miss X applied for free home to school transport for her daughter Y after accepting a place at a new secondary school. The Council refused the application as it said Y was not attending her nearest school. Miss X appealed the Council’s decision. She said Y’s new school is her nearest suitable school. She had to leave her last school as she was being bullied and it was having a significant impact on her mental health.
8. The Council’s transport panel considered Miss X’s appeal and decided to use its discretion to provide transport assistance outside of the Council’s normal policy. It said the Council would pay for the cost of a school bus pass for Y. It also said Miss X should be paid up to £9 a day to take Y to the school bus stop.
9. Miss X is unhappy with the panel’s decision and would like the Council to provide a taxi to the school bus stop. Miss X receives universal credit and the mileage allowance from the Council would be considered income and her payments reduced.

Assessment

10. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to provide a taxi to take Y to and from the school bus stop. This is as it is unlikely the Ombudsman would find fault by the Council.
11. 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.
12. Miss X says the Council has a duty to support Y to attend school. But the panel did decide the Council should use its discretion to provide transport assistance for Y. I understand Miss X is unhappy the Council has refused her request for a taxi to take Y to the school bus stop. However, the Council’s policy says where transport assistance is provided it will be arranged at the lowest possible cost. I have reviewed the notes from the panel meeting. These show the panel did consider Miss X’s concerns before deciding it was not necessary to provide a taxi for Y. I understand Miss X disagrees with this decision, but the panel was entitled to come to a view based on the information it had. As the panel followed the correct process and considered the information and comments from Miss X, it is unlikely I would find fault.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because he is unlikely to find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman