Summary: The Council accepted fault when it investigated Mrs X’s complaint about school transport for her Disabled child. However, the Council’s failure to complete the actions agreed in its complaint response was further fault which caused Mrs X injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise, take the action it agreed to, make a payment to Mrs X and improve its services for the future.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the transport provided for her Disabled child to get to and from school. She said the transport was often late without any communication or updates and staff on the transport lacked the skills and training to support young people with Special Education Needs. As a result, Mrs X says her child was often late to school and arrived distressed.
2. Mrs X also complained that the Council failed to complete the actions it committed to in response to her complaint. She had to go to avoidable time and trouble pursuing this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
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. I considered the complaint and the information Mrs X and the Council provided.
6. I referred to the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
7. 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

School transport

8. 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. The relevant qualifying school is the nearest school with places available that provides education appropriate to the age, ability and aptitude of the child, and any special educational needs the child may have. ‘Eligible children’ include:

• children living outside ‘statutory walking distance’ from the school (two miles for children under eight, three miles for children aged eight and above);
• children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem. (Education Act 1996, 508B(1) and Schedule 35B)

Brent Transport Service

9. Brent Transport Service (BTS) provides assisted travel by minibus or taxi to children and young people who need extra support on the journey to and from school. Support is provided by a passenger assistant.
10. It is a joint service with another London borough and is led by that borough on behalf of both councils. There is a transport hub from which that borough communicates with both minibus and taxi operators and families using the service.

What happened

11. Mrs X’s child, whom I will call D, is autistic. The Council provides transport for D to get to and from school every day.
12. Mrs X complained to the Council in January 2023. In her complaint, she said she had been reporting problems to BTS since November 2022. In particular, that the minibus was often late, and the transport hub did not provide updates or alerts about this. She was also concerned that the passenger assistant on the minibus didn’t have the right training to manage the needs of children with SEN. She said D's autism meant unexpected delays caused avoidable distress and meant D did not arrive at school able to learn. On one occasion, transport was delayed on a day D had an important test at school. D was already anxious about this and being late meant D was then stressed and worried about getting into trouble.
13. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint at stage one of its process in February. It said:
• The traffic in London could make travel times unpredictable;
• However, its policy was for the transport provider to alert BTS of any delays over 10 minutes so that BTS could tell parents;
• It accepted various delays were not reported to BTS and apologised for this; and
• It had strict minimum training requirements for its passenger assistants, which the assistant on D’s minibus received.
14. Mrs X asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage two in March. She said:
• Delays were still a problem;
• If BTS didn’t alert her, then she couldn’t prepare D for this to minimise the distress to D;
• She didn’t believe the right policies were in place because communication remained poor; and
• BTS should provide parents with copies of its policies and guidelines so parents knew what to expect from BTS and what BTS expected from them.
15. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint in May. It said:
• Its stage one response acknowledged service failures, especially around communication among BTS, transport providers, and families;
• It was reasonable for Mrs X to expect a high standard of service but the realities of London traffic meant delays are unavoidable; and
• This was why it was so important for BTS to notify parents of any delay
16. To remedy the injustice to Mrs X and D to improve its services the Council agreed to:
• Pay Mrs X £150;
• Recommend that BTS arrange mandatory training on communication and the agreed protocol for all new and existing staff; and
• Ask BTS to share copies of its guidelines with Mrs X within two weeks.
17. Mrs X told the Council she was happy with this outcome. It reassured her that the service would learn from her complaint and improve for both D and others who used the service.
18. Mrs X wrote to the Council again at the end of May. She said despite the commitment in its complaint response, she had not received the information from BTS.
19. Mrs X followed this up again in June because she had still not received a response from BTS.
20. The Council told Mrs X it was sorry. It said it had escalated the request to senior officers for the final time. It told Mrs X that if it still failed to comply, she could bring her complaint to the Ombudsman.
21. The Council met with Mrs X in July. By that point, Mrs X had stopped using the transport service for D after an incident where D arrived at school extremely distressed. The Council agreed a plan to reintroduce D to school transport and provided Mrs X with more information about the training the passenger assistants received.

My findings

22. In response to her complaint, the Council accepted fault. It identified the steps it would take to put things right for Mrs X and D and to improve its services in future. The agreed actions are in line with what the Ombudsman would recommend. Mrs X told the Council she was pleased with the outcome.
23. Following through on agreed actions is an essential part of the complaint process. It shows complainants their complaints are taken seriously and helps build trust that the Council will do what it says it will. In this case, the Council failed to ensure it completed the actions it agreed to take. This was fault.
24. As a result, it undermined Mrs X’s confidence in the service and her belief that it would learn for the fault as it had agreed to. Mrs X had to go to avoidable time and trouble chasing the Council. This is an injustice to Mrs X.

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Agreed action

25. To remedy the injustice to Mrs X from the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Mrs X in writing in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology;
• Pay Mrs X a further £150 in recognition of her avoidable distress and time and trouble; and
• Provide Mrs X with the information it agreed to share in response to her stage two complaint.
26. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
27. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
• Identify and implement a means of ensuring the Council records actions agreed following a complaint, along with the timescale for completion, and follows these up where incomplete.
• Ensure third party providers delivering services on the Council’s behalf are aware of the Council’s expectations for complaint handling and completing agreed remedies.
28. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken with three months of my final decision.

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Final decision

29. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman