Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about whether the Council has exercised discretion under a specific section of the Education Act 1996 and refused to provide information. We will not revisit a complaint which we have previously considered. And it is reasonable to expect the complainant to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if she believes the Council is withholding information. Finally, we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mrs X, complains the Council has refused to engage with her attempts to get her child to school or find a place at a closer school. She also complains the Council has refused to answer her queries. Mrs X specifically wants the Council to confirm:
• whether her child would get free school transport if she moved house; and
• whether the Council has applied s508c Education Act 1996 which covers discretionary powers for transport for children not covered by s508b.
2. Mrs X wants the Council to:
• reinstate the now closed bus route her child previously used to get to school, or
• divert other routes to cover her village, or
• mix free school transport with paying children, or
• exercise discretion and allocate her child a seat on the bus, or
• find a place for a child at a school which her child can access.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X previously complained an alleged lack of discretion when the Council considered her application for school transport. The Ombudsman does not revisit complaints already addressed in a previous complaint. Therefore, I will not revisit the part of this complaint concerning the Council’s discretion and the previous decision stands.
7. Mrs X complains the Council refuses to answer her questions. If Mrs X believes the Council is withholding information, it is reasonable to expect her to complain to the Information Commissioner. This is because this is the body with specific powers and expertise to look into Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations issues. The Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) has powers which the Ombudsman does not have to require compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we will not revisit the parts of this complaint that we have addressed previously. And it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to complain to the ICO if she believes the Council is refusing to provide information to which she is entitled.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman