Summary: Miss X complains the Council unreasonably denied transport assistance for her child, and refused to backdate the support once the decision was overturned. The Ombudsman finds no fault with the Council for how it reached the decisions made on Miss X’s application for travel assistance.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council unreasonably denied her request for support with travel for her child. Miss X complains the Council did not have a reasonable understanding of the impact of domestic abuse and the complications that arise from fleeing.
2. Miss X complains the Council made the decision without seeking accurate information and has unreasonably denied her request to backdate the travel allowance to the date of the original decision.

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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. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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 Miss X’s complaint and information she provided. I also considered the Council’s transport policy and information provided by the Council.
6. I invited Miss X and the Council to comment on my draft decision and considered any comments received.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

School Transport

7. 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)

The Council’s transport policy

8. Local Authorities have discretionary power to provide travel to school for children in their area who are not eligible children. This is called discretionary travel.
9. The Council’s policy for discretionary decisions in exceptional circumstances says that the Council can use its discretion to decide to grant travel assistance. Each case will be considered individually, and some exceptional circumstances are

• Pupils living with temporary medical problems,
• pupils living in emergency time limited accommodation, and
• pupils with parents/carers who are disabled.

What happened

10. Miss X has two children, Child Y and Child Z. Miss X and both the children fled domestic abuse. They lived in an emergency refuge temporarily while they rehomed.
11. Miss X applied to the Council for travel assistance to take Child Y to school while they lived in the refuge. The Council decided the circumstances of the family and their emergency housing meant there were exceptional circumstances and agreed to grant travel assistance for Child Y. Miss X did not require assistance for Child Z.
12. In October 2022, Miss X and the children were rehomed into a permanent home. The Council wrote to Miss X and said that as she had moved into a permanent home and was no longer in emergency temporary housing, she no longer qualified for transport assistance.
13. Miss X appealed the decision to stop the travel assistance. In her appeal she said

• Child Y was on the pathway to being diagnosed with Special Educational Needs, it was in their best interests to remain at a school that supports these needs.
• Child Y had experienced disruption due to fleeing domestic abuse, and Miss Y did not want to cause further disruption to their life.
• Child Y was in the last year of primary school and it was not a good time to introduce them to a new setting, and then have them transition again the next year.

14. The Council denied the appeal for travel assistance. Its reasoning was that Child Y did not attend the closest qualifying school and there were no exceptional circumstances to the case.
15. Miss X submitted a second stage appeal to the Council.
16. The Council heard the case at the appeal panel. The panel records show the Council considered:

• The information from Miss X and Child Y’s school about their current needs,
• Miss X’s preference not to transfer Child Y, and
• the family’s history.

17. The Council wrote to Miss X and told her of the result. It decided not to exercise discretion and award transport assistance as it was not an exceptional circumstance, and Child Y was not attending the closest eligible school.
18. Miss X then tried to move Child Y to a closer eligible school, but the Council told that none were available.
19. As there were no school places available at closer, eligible schools, the Council agreed to reverse its previous decision and granted travel assistance until Child Y finished primary school.
20. Miss X asked the Council to backdate the assistance for the time during the appeals process. The Council did not agree to backdate the payments.
21. Miss X remained unhappy with the decision not to backdate the assistance, as she felt the Council could have made the decision earlier. Miss X complained to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

Is there fault in the decision-making process?

22. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.
23. The grounds on which Miss X applied for travel assistance fall under the discretionary part of the Council’s travel policy.
24. This means that if the Council can show it suitably considered Miss X’s application, it is at the Council’s discretion whether the assistance is granted.
25. The Council took account of information from its own policy and information from Miss X. In reviewing the notes from the Panel, I can see the Panel considered Miss X’s circumstances, the reasons she was applying and her historical circumstances. The Panel notes show the panel were divided about whether to grant the assistance. This shows the Panel did consider the reasons for application and what weight to give the information from Miss X, but eventually decided against granting it at that time.
26. The Council followed the appropriate procedures when making this decision and I cannot therefore criticise it.
27. In deciding whether there was fault by the Council not backdating the assistance, I have considered if any new information came to light after the initial Panel decision.
28. At the panel, Miss X did not want to move Child Y to a new school. This was partly why the application was refused, as Child Y was not attending, and was not going to attend, their closest eligible school. At this point, the panel had no reason to believe at this point Miss X would move Child Y to a new school. Therefore, it would have no reason to seek out information about whether places were available.
29. New information was presented after the decision which showed Miss X had since tried to move Child Y to a closer school, but it was not possible. This new evidence was considered by the Council and a new decision made. I do not find fault with the Council for not backdating the assistance, as it up to the Council to make the decision based on the information available at the time.
30. I find no fault by the Council in how it decided Miss X’s application for transport assistance for Child Y.

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Final decision

31. I have completed my investigation. I find no fault by the Council for its decision-making process.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman