Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse to supply an escort to accompany her child, W, to and from school in a taxi. The Council was at fault for failing to treat Mrs X’s concerns as an appeal. This caused Mrs X uncertainty about what an appeal might have decided. To remedy Mrs X’s injustice, the Council will apologise. It will also carry out staff training. The Council has since agreed to arrange an escort, so a new appeal is not necessary.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse to supply an escort to accompany her child, W, to and from school in a taxi. She said this caused her stress and put W at risk.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. Mrs X’s complaint is about the Council’s decision to award W an un-escorted taxi as free school transport. The Council made that decision in September 2021. Mrs X did not complain to the Ombudsman until March 2023 and I have seen no good reason to exercise discretion (choice) to investigate back to September 2021. I have therefore focused my investigation on the period since September 2022, when Mrs X complained about the travel arrangements.
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
6. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have considered:
• all the information Mrs X provided and discussed the complaint with her;
• the Council’s comments about the complaint and the supporting documents it provided; and
• the Council’s policies, relevant law and guidance and the Ombudsman's guidance on remedies.
8. Mrs X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

9. Local authorities must make suitable home to school travel arrangements as they consider necessary for ‘eligible children’ of compulsory school age to attend their ‘qualifying school’. The travel arrangements must be made and provided free of charge.
10. Statutory guidance called the “Home to School transport guidance July 2014” says councils should have an appeals process in place for parents who wish to appeal about the eligibility of their child for travel support or about the travel arrangements offered.
11. The Council’s appeal process at the time of these events is that at stage one a senior officer reviews the case. For appeals about eligibility, the complainant can then request a stage two appeal panel. Appeals about travel arrangements are heard by a senior officer based outside the School Transport Team.

What happened

12. Mrs X’s child, W, is eligible for free school transport due to their needs stemming from their disabilities. In September 2021, the Council decided W would travel to and from school in a taxi shared with other children. It sent Mrs X a letter which set out its decision but did not contain information on how Mrs X could appeal that decision. Following an Ombudsman investigation, the Council amended its template decision letter in late September 2022 to include reference to the appeal process.
13. In October 2022, Mrs X complained to the Council about the travel arrangements. She said she felt there needed to be an escort in the taxi to keep W safe. She was also unhappy another child had been going to school in the taxi.
14. The Council responded to Mrs X’s concerns using all three stages of its complaints procedure. It said an extra child travelled in the taxi on two occasions. This was a decision made by the taxi operator, who did not tell the Council. The Council confirmed it had contacted the taxi company and said it was not allowed to add an extra child.
15. The Council said it did not agree W’s needs were serious enough to require an escort. It later considered evidence from the school W attends but did not change its decision.
16. Mrs X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman in March 2023.
17. As part of my investigation, I asked the Council why it did not consider Mrs X’s concerns using the appeal process. The Council said it thought Mrs X was complaining about processes and policies rather than about travel arrangements. It also said Mrs X sent her concerns to the complaints team and used the word complaint.
18. The Council explained it spoke to Mrs X on the phone in November 2022 about its stage two complaint response and suggested she could appeal. It said Mrs X was clear she wanted to complain to the Ombudsman and so needed to finish the complaints process. The Council said Mrs X contacted a councillor about the escort, who responded in April 2023 and recommended she appeal.
19. In June 2023, the Council agreed to arrange an escort because W’s needs increased.

Findings

Fault in how the Council responded to Mrs X’s concerns

20. The Council made its original decision not to award W an escort in their taxi to school in September 2021. I have not investigated that period, but I note the letter did not include reference to an appeal right.
21. In September 2022, Mrs X became dissatisfied with the arrangements and complained to the Council’s complaint department. I am not persuaded by the Council’s rationale for putting Mrs X’s concerns through the complaints process. It had not informed Mrs X of her appeal right by that point and it was clear she was complaining about the arrangements relevant to W.
22. While the Council says it subsequently told Mrs X of her appeal right, this was after its stage two response and again after she complained to the Ombudsman. It is not surprising that after having begun the complaints process, Mrs X was not willing to go through another procedure before she could complain to the Ombudsman. Equally, once the Ombudsman accepted her complaint there would be little incentive for Mrs X to request an appeal. I am satisfied the Council was at fault for failing to use the appeal process when Mrs X complained in September 2022. This caused Mrs X uncertainty about what the Council’s appeal decision might have been.
23. In cases where a council has not properly notified someone of their right of appeal, we would normally find fault and recommend the council complete the appeal. However, in Mrs X’s case, W’s needs increased and in June 2023, the Council agreed to arrange an escort. There is no need for an appeal now, so I have not made a recommendation to that effect.

No fault in how the Council dealt with an extra child being added to the taxi

24. The decision to add an extra child to W’s taxi was made by the taxi operator and without the Council’s knowledge. It was therefore not at fault. When Mrs X told the Council about the extra child it confirmed with the operator that it had only occurred on two occasions and told the operator it was not allowed to add an extra child. This was an appropriate action to resolve the issue so the Council was not at fault.

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Agreed action

25. Within one month of the date of my final decision the Council will:
• apologise to Mrs X for the uncertainty she experienced due to its failure to put her complaint through the free school transport appeal process; and
• remind staff that concerns about what school transport the Council has awarded a child should be heard through the transport appeal process, even if they have been submitted as a complaint.
26. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

27. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault leading to personal injustice. I have recommended action to remedy that injustice and prevent reoccurrence of this fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman