Summary: Ms X complained the Council gave her wrong information about school transport funding on the phone and its communication has been poor. The Council is at fault for delays in communication and providing misleading information although the Council has sought to address this in part.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council gave her the wrong information about school transport funding on the phone. She said the Council told her it would reimburse up to six months of transport funded by the family, but it has now refused to do so. Ms X also says communication with the school transport team has been poor.

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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. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we will weigh up the available relevant evidence and base our findings on what we think was more likely to have happened.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. As part of the investigation I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant.
• Documents provided by the Council and its comments in response to my enquiries.
• Education Act 1996, Home to school travel and transport statutory guidance
6. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant legislation

7. Local authorities must make ‘suitable travel arrangements’, ‘as they consider necessary’, for ‘eligible children’ to attend their ‘qualifying school’. This transport must be provided free of charge.
8. Councils should have an appeals process in place for parents who wish to appeal about the eligibility of their child for travel support. (Home to School transport guidance July 2014 paragraphs 54-55)

The Council’s policies and procedures

9. The Council makes provision for assistance with travel between home and school for pupils attending mainstream and special schools and for eligible students with additional special educational needs attending college.
10. An individual must submit a transport application form which they can download from the internet.
11. The first stage is for the Council to acknowledge the application within five working days of receipt.
12. The second stage is for the Council to assess the application within 15 working days of stage one.
13. The third stage (in cases where the Council agrees to provide assistance) is for the Council to decide what arrangements are suitable and appropriate for the needs of the child. The Council will ask the parent/carer to sign an agreement and the arrangement will usually be implemented within ten working days. If a parent/carer disagrees with the type of arrangement offered, they can appeal within 15 days of receiving the decision letter.
14. If an applicant needs help completing the form, they are invited to contact the School and College Transport Team by phone or email.
15. Any change in circumstance (e.g. change of address) that may affect a child’s entitlement to travel will result in a review of the type of travel arrangement provided and a new application form needs to be completed.
16. The Council may reimburse the parent/carer a mileage rate if they choose to transport their child to school in their own vehicle. Alternatively, the Council may provide a vehicle to transport eligible children.

What happened

17. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
18. Ms X and Mr Y have a son, S. Ms X and Mr Y are separated.
19. S has an Education and Health Care Plan as he has medical issues. S has specific needs about transport.
20. S has a transport plan. From September 2020 to July 2022, he travelled on transport to school from his home address, and return. The same plan was to continue at the start of the new academic year, from September 2022.
21. On 2 September 2022, Ms X rang the Council and left a voicemail. She said she was moving and suspended S’s transport arrangements. The Council suspended the transport. Mr Y transported S to and from school after this date. The Council said an officer contacted Ms X, she asked the officer to email a copy of the application form. The Council cannot check whether the officer sent this email.
22. In its stage one response to Ms X, the Council said it posted a change of circumstances transport application form to Ms X on 6 September and 6 October. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it will usually direct an applicant to its website to send the transport form electronically. Where this is not possible for a family, it will post a hard copy to them. The Council said it does not keep a record of when it sent application forms to families. Internal email correspondence refers to the Council sending the application forms in the post but for reasons beyond its control, Ms X had not received them. In conversation with me, Ms X said she received the form in October and completed it within a week.
23. On 5 October, Ms X said she contacted the Council about her son’s transport and said she was concerned about the cost of fuel. Ms X said the officer told her not to worry as the Council will refund her mileage for up to six months.
24. In its stage one complaint response, the Council referred to the conversation and said it was ‘sorry that incorrect information was given at this stage and this will be dealt with internally as a training matter.’ It said the officer should have advised her to complete a new application form for the Council to carry out a new assessment. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it ‘does not accept that Ms X was told that mileage reimbursement would be backdated’ and refers to its policy which requires the individual to complete a new assessment application form. It says it is not Council policy to offer backdated payments.
25. Ms X completed the application form by hand and dated it 17 November.
26. The Council received a copy of the application form on 1 December.
27. Ms X got a new phone for Christmas. She said she told the Council her new number in early January 2023.
28. On 17 January 2023, the Council completed its assessment of Ms X’s application. The new plan should have been active ten working days later (31 January) according to the Council’s policy. The Council’s stage one response agreed to backdate the mileage to 1 December, the date it received the application form due to the delay in Ms X receiving the forms originally.
29. Ms X said she tried to call the Council in January and left messages asking for a return call. The Council’s records for early January show Ms X called three times on three different dates from two different numbers. These are the numbers Ms X wrote on the new transport application form. A manager called Ms X twice on one of these numbers which Ms X did not answer. Ms X later returned the call from the same number. Ms X used her “old numbers” as late as 17 January.
30. The telephone records from 18 January onwards show Ms X contacted the Council on a new number. In its stage two response, the Council admitted Ms X had contacted the team and a manager had tried to return the call but was using her old number. It apologised for the error. The letter said the Council updated its records on 16 February with Ms X’s new number.

Analysis

Communication

31. The Council directs applicants to its website where they can complete the application form electronically. Ms X could have completed the form online.
32. The Council’s website says an applicant can phone or email and ask for help. This is what Ms X did. I would therefore expect the Council to provide help.
33. Ms X telephoned the Council and asked for a copy of the application form. The Council considers it sent two copies in the post to Ms X but cannot evidence this. There is no way of knowing if it did send them in the post, and if it did, to what address. It considers it sent a copy by email, but again cannot evidence this. Ms X said she received the form in October. There was a month’s delay in Ms X receiving the form, although it is clear she received it. This is fault.
34. Ms X also complains the Council did not return her phone calls. She said she got a new phone and told the Council her new number. In response to my enquiries, the Council provided copies of the telephone logs. This is a record of calls made and received, but no notes of the conversation. There is no record of Ms X telling the Council she updated her telephone number. Ms X contacted the Council on her old number, and the emergency number in early January 2023. These are the numbers she included on the recent application form, and the same numbers the Council returned her calls on. Although Ms X said she had a new number from Christmas, she was still using her old numbers in the middle of January. The Council returned Ms X’s call to the number she called on. Ms X was still able to contact the Council. Any miscommunication was for a few days. I do not consider this serious enough to be fault.
35. The Council apologised to Ms X in its stage two response and explained Ms X’s ‘new telephone number had not been recorded on the transport system’ and staff were trying to contact Ms X on her old number. It has since updated Ms X’s telephone number and have contacted her on this number since. The issue has been resolved, the Council apologised and any injustice was limited.

Reimbursement for mileage

36. Ms X complained the Council did not reimburse her mileage after she moved.
37. The Council’s website states a change in circumstance, such as a new address as in this case, may affect a child’s entitlement to travel. The Council will review the travel arrangement following receipt of a new application form and follow the procedure set out above. The Council arranges travel assistance which should be in place within ten working days following the assessment. The Councils response to my enquires highlight this section of the policy. It follows that back payment of mileage cannot be guaranteed as there is no agreement to provide transport until the Council has reviewed the case and agreed a new plan. Ms X should have known this from the information online and previous applications.
38. Ms X said the Council told her on the telephone it would pay back her mileage costs. It has not paid back her costs as she said it promised. The Council’s response to this part of her complaint is mixed. In its stage one response, the Council apologised for giving the wrong information. In its response to my enquiries, the Council did not accept it told Ms X that mileage would be reimbursed. Either the stage one response or the enquiry response is wrong. The Council does not record its telephone calls, there is no way of knowing if the officer gave the wrong information to Ms X. The fact the Council has given different accounts of what happened is a concern. It has no records and cannot say with certainty what happened. Considering Mrs X’s account and the original complaint response apologising, I consider on balance, it more likely than not the Council gave the wrong information to Ms X. This is fault.
39. On 17 January 2023, the Council completed its assessment of Ms X’s application. The new plan was due to start at the end of January, the Council would pay for Ms X’s mileage from this date. The Council however agreed to backdate to the 1 December. This is two months more than Ms X was entitled to under the policy. It was not required to do this but used its discretion due to the lateness of Ms X receiving the form. This is good practice.
40. Ms X told me she received the form in October and returned it within a week. Ms X signed and dated the form 17 November, the Council received it on the 1 December. Ms X had the form for over a month before she completed and returned it. Had she done this earlier, the Council would have introduced the plan earlier. The Council are not at fault for Ms X delaying returning the forms.

Injustice

41. The Council’s misleading advice to Ms X about back payment of mileage and delay in sending her an application form meant she did not quickly return the forms for the Council to complete a new assessment. The new package was agreed to start at the end of January which meant Ms X missed mileage from the beginning of September, this is her injustice. Ms X was worried about the cost which was heightened by the Council not quickly updating its contact details for her. Ms X could have completed the form quicker which would have helped her case. The Council has offered to give Ms X two months back pay. This covers some of the period. I consider this a reasonable offer.

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Agreed actions

42. The Council has already agreed to pay Ms X’s mileage from 1 December 2022.
43. In addition to this, within four weeks of my final decision, the Council agreed to pay Ms X £200 for the distress caused by its confused and delayed communication.
44. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

45. The Council is at fault for delay in communication and providing misleading information.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman