Summary: factors outside the Council’s control led the Council to suspend school transport for one of Ms M’s children. However, the Council accepts it handled the matter badly. The Council apologised and offered a symbolic payment. We have made recommendations.

The complaint

1. Ms M complains the Council suspended her children’s school transport without warning and they missed school as a result. She wants the Council to pay compensation.

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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. Once 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

4. I have considered information provided by Ms M and information provided by the Council. I invited Ms M and the Council to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Ms M’s children attend a local special school. The Council provides transport.
6. On 9 February 2023, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) issued an email alert to public service vehicle operators advising seatbelt buckle guards must not be used. Seatbelt buckle guards are sometimes used on school transport to prevent children with special educational needs releasing their seatbelts.
7. As the safety plan for one of Ms M’s children included the use of a seatbelt buckle guard, the contractor suspended his transport while alternative arrangements were considered. The Council informed Ms M minutes before the transport was due to collect the children for school on Friday 10 February 2023.
8. Mrs M took the children to school by taxi on 10 February 2023.
9. Ms M emailed the Council on Sunday 12 February to question the Council’s decision to suspend the children’s transport. She sent the taxi receipt and asked for a refund.
10. The Council replied on Wednesday 15 February. The Council said it was working to find a solution as quickly as possible. The Council asked Ms M to make alternative arrangements and said it would reimburse the cost of taxis. The Council asked Ms M to provide her bank details so it could make payments promptly.
11. Ms M replied the same day to say she was not in a financial position to make alternative arrangements for the children’s transport.
12. The school closed at the end of the week for the half-term holiday.
13. Ms M made a formal complaint on Monday 20 February 2023. She complained her children had missed a week of school, and the transport team had not sorted out their school transport.
14. After the half-term holiday, Ms M took her children to school by taxi.
15. On 23 March 2023, the Council confirmed it had obtained a harness to use instead of the buckle guard, and the children’s transport would resume the following day.
16. The Council upheld Ms M’s complaint. The Council apologised for the short-notice cancellation of the transport and the confusion about the arrangements for the children’s transport. The Council apologised for not keeping Ms M informed. The Council offered a payment of £50 for Ms M’s time and trouble pursuing her complaint.
17. On 12 April 2023, the Council refunded approximately £500 Ms M had paid for taxis since the half-term holiday.
18. Unhappy with the Council’s response, Ms M complained to the Ombudsman. She wants the Council to pay a further £500 to recognise the impact on her children’s education.

Consideration

19. Factors outside the Council’s control led the Council to suspend school transport for one of Ms M’s children. However, the Council accepts it handled the matter badly and has apologised and offered a symbolic payment. Ms M is unhappy with the payment. The question for the Ombudsman, then, is whether the Council’s apology and the payment are an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused by its mistakes.
20. We call the impact on Ms M and her children the injustice. Ms M went to considerable time and trouble contacting the Council and arranging taxis to take her children to school while the Council sorted out the problem. The children missed 3 days of school before the Council offered to pay for taxis.
21. The Council only suspended transport for one of Ms M’s children. However, I appreciate it made sense for her to take both children together when she arranged transport herself.

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Agreed action

22. We have published guidance to explain how we recommend remedies for people who have suffered injustice as a result of fault by a council. Our primary aim is to put people back in the position they would have been in if the fault by the Council had not occurred. When this is not possible, as in the case of Ms M and her children, we may recommend the Council makes a symbolic payment.
23. The Council offered Mrs M a payment of £50 for her time and trouble. I welcome the Council’s offer. However, to recognise the fact the Council did not offer to pay for transport until Wednesday 15 February, and to acknowledge the significant amount of money Ms M had to find to pay ‘up-front’ for the travel, I recommended the Council offer a further payment of £100. I recommended the Council makes the payment within one month of my final decision.
24. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
25. The Council accepted my recommendations.

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Final decision

26. I have ended my investigation as the Council accepted my recommendations.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman