Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to arrange school transport for her son, Y. Mrs X says this has caused her frustration and she has had to arrange her own transport for Y. I have found fault in the Councils actions. We recommend the Council issues Mrs X with an apology, pays her a financial payment and completes service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to arrange school transport for her son, Y.
2. Mrs X says this has caused her frustration and she has had to arrange her own transport for Y

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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 injustice we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
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 our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mrs X and the Council were invited to comment on my draft decision. I have considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

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. 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;
• children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot walk to school because the route is unsafe; and
• children entitled on low-income grounds. (Education Act 1996, 508B(1) and Schedule 35B)

SEN Transport

10. A child will not normally be eligible for free travel to school on the grounds of their special educational needs, disability, or mobility problem, or on the grounds that the route is unsafe, if they would be able to walk to school if they were accompanied.
11. A child will not normally be eligible solely because their parent’s work commitments or caring responsibilities mean they are unable to accompany their child themselves. Councils must consider cases where the parent says there are good reasons why they are unable to accompany their child, or make other suitable arrangements for their journey, and make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of each case.
12. Where the local authority determines that a child would be able to walk if they were accompanied, the general expectation is that the parent will accompany them or make other suitable arrangements for their journey to and from school. (Department of Education, Travel to school for children of compulsory school age statutory guidance 2023, paragraphs 47 to 52)

Transport for 16–19-year-olds

13. Young people of sixth form age
14. The overall intention of the sixth form age transport duty is to ensure that:

• learners of sixth form age can access the education and training of their choice; and
• if support for access is requested, this is assessed and provided where necessary.

15. Councils have a duty to publish a transport policy statement setting out the transport arrangements they consider it necessary to make to facilitate attendance at education or training and the financial help available for:

• learners of sixth form age (aged 16-19 if they started the course before their 19th birthday); and
• learners with EHC Plans up to the age of 25 who started their programme of learning before their 19th birthday. (Education Act 1996 section 509AA).

Transport appeals

16. Councils should have an appeals process in place for parents who wish to appeal about the eligibility of their child for travel support.
17. The statutory guidance recommends councils adopt the following appeals process:

• Stage 1: review by a senior officer. Within 20 working days of receiving a parent’s written request to appeal the decision, a senior officer reviews the original decision and sends the parent a detailed written notification of the outcome of the review setting out the nature of the decision, how the review was conducted, what was taken into account, the rationale for the decision reached, and how to escalate their case to stage 2; and
• Stage 2: Within 40 working days of receipt of the parent’s request for an independent appeal panel to consider written and verbal representations, a detailed decision is sent setting out: the nature of the decision reached; how the review was conducted; what factors were considered; the rationale for the decision reached; and information about appealing to us.
  (Department of Education, Travel to school for children of compulsory school age statutory guidance 2023, Part 5)
• The Councils policy says it will provide the applicant with written notification of its decision at Stage 2 within 5 working days of its review meeting.

The Councils Travel assistance Policy for 0-25 year olds in education

18. The Council’s Travel Assistance Policy says the vast majority of young people do not receive or require travel support from the Council and. Unless the circumstances are exceptional, the only category of young persons of sixth form age the Council will consider providing travel assistance for are those with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, a disability or learning difficulties.
19. The Policy says if the Council does agree to provide travel assistance then its policy is to provide this in the form of a Personal Transport Budget.

What happened

20. Mrs X applied for assistance with school transport in early May 2023. The Council assessed this and decided to award a personal transport budget for Y in June 2023.
21. Mrs X was unhappy with this decision and appealed it in August 2023. The Council reviewed Mrs X’s appeal and overturned its decision in September 2023 and decided to award Y with transport to school.
22. The Council did not write to Mrs X to advise her of this until mid-October 2023.
23. Mrs X contacted the Council in December 2023 to say it had not put transport in place for Y. The Council responded shortly after to say it had now put transport in place and explained the delay was due to training needing to be provided.
24. The Council discussed re-imbursing Mrs X for petrol costs over the period transport was not in place for Y in late January 2024.
25. Mrs X complained to the Council in mid-March 2024. Mrs X complained about delays in getting Y’s school transport in place. She also complained about an incident with Y’s guide not picking up on a medical emergency and the transport team’s failure to reply to her.
26. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint in late March 2024 and apologised for the lack of contact from the travel team. It also said it had now reinstated Y’s transport on his previous route and believed it was running smoothly.
27. The Council wrote to parents in July 2024 to tell them it was changing its travel policy. It sent a letter to Mrs X which explained Y was no longer entitled to transport from September 2024 due to the age range he was in. The Council explained it would provide support for eligible young people through a personal transport budget.
28. Mrs X appealed this decision in late July 2024 and said Y had an EHC Plan in place which should mean he would be entitled to travel support.
29. The Council reviewed Mrs X’s appeal in late August 2024. It considered Y’s EHC Plan and the factors Mrs X had raised and decided to uphold its decision that a personal transport budget was suitable and reasonable.
30. Mrs X contacted the Council in mid-September 2024 to complain about the delay in assessing her appeal. She also said Y met all three conditions in the Council’s policy for it to consider Y for travel assistance.
31. The Council issued its appeal decision to Mrs X in mid-September.
32. Mrs X raised a further appeal which the Council reviewed in October 2024 and again upheld its decision that a personal transport budget was suitable. The Council wrote to Mrs X in mid-October 2024 to confirm its decision.

Analysis

33. It is not the role of the Ombudsman to decide whether the Council should provide travel assistance or in what form this should be provided. The Ombudsman’s role is to check the Council made its decision properly. We check the Council took account of relevant law and statutory guidance and considered all the relevant evidence.
34. The Council decided in September 2023 it would put transport in place for Y but failed to do so until December 2023. This is fault. I appreciate the Council has said the delay was due to waiting for training to be completed. However, there is a significant delay in putting the transport it agreed for Y in place. Mrs X was caused distress and inconvenience at having to arrange transport in this time which the Council had agreed to provide.
35. The Council discussed re-imbursing Mrs X for the petrol costs she incurred in this period but did not take any further action. The Council has explained this was because it was focussed on getting transport in place and omitted to offer petrol expenses in the interim. This is fault. Mrs X was caused frustration that after discussing this the Council took no further action.
36. Mrs X raised concerns with the travel guides who accompanied Y in March 2024. She also raised issues with the travel teams lack of response to concerns raised. The Council investigated this and responded to Mrs X’s complaint, apologised for the delays in responding and changed Y’s travel route. There is no fault in how the Council dealt with Mrs X’s complaint in March 2024.
37. After receiving correspondence from the Council in July 2024 about changes it made to its travel policy and what that would mean for Y, Mrs X asked for an appeal in late July.
38. The Council considered the appeal in late August but did not tell Mrs X of its decision until mid- September. The Council considered that Y had an EHC Plan in place and the factors Mrs X had explained impacted the family in terms of getting Y to his educational placement. There is no fault in how the Council considered the appeal. The Council’s policy says it will inform applicants of its decision at the review meeting within 5 working days. The Council did not do so here. This is fault. Mrs X was caused frustration with the delay in receiving the Council’s decision.
39. Mrs X raised a further appeal which the Council considered in mid-October 2024. The Council again considered the factors Mrs X put forward and issued a letter to Mrs X explaining its decision. There is no fault in how the Council considered the appeal.

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Action

40. Within one month of a final decision, the Council should:

• Write to Mrs X to apologise for the faults identified.
• Reimburse Mrs X for travel costs as discussed in January 2024.
• Pay Mrs X £350 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused to her.
• In writing, remind officers of the importance of responding to and issuing correspondence in a timely manner.

41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

42. I find fault causing injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman