Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to provide her daughter with free transport to school. This is because the Council has now agreed to Mrs X’s request and so an investigation could not achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about the Council’s decision not to provide her daughter with free transport to school.

Back to top

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 could add to any previous investigation by the Council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered Mrs X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information she provided. I also gave Mrs X the opportunity to comment on a draft statement before reaching a final decision on her complaint.

Back to top

What I found

4. Mrs X asked the Council to provide her daughter with free transport to school. The Council originally refused, and Mrs X appealed its decision. The Council reviewed its decision and has agreed to provide Mrs X’s daughter with free transport.
5. Because of the Council’s decision an investigation by the Ombudsman could not achieve anything more for Mrs X. We will not therefore investigate her complaint.

Back to top

Final decision

6. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because we could not achieve anything more for Mrs X.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman