Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to award Miss X’s child free home to school transport. This is because we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision not to award her child with special educational needs (SEN) a place on its free home to school transport scheme.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Miss X applied to the Council for a place on its free home to school transport scheme on behalf of her child Y, who has SEN.
6. The Council declined Miss X’s application because she had opted to send Y to a school that was not the nearest suitable school to Miss X’s home.
7. Miss X appealed the decision and explained that she had no other way of ensuring that Y could get to school outside of the scheme.
8. The Council heard Miss X’s appeal and held a panel. The panel considered Miss X’s statements of support as well as whether it was appropriate to exercise discretion. The panel maintained the decision not to award Y a place on the scheme because she was not attending the nearest suitable school, she did not qualify for the scheme on income grounds and a school bus was available to take Y to her preferred school. Miss X was unhappy with the Council’s decision and referred the complaint to the Ombudsman.
9. The Ombudsman cannot question the merits of a decision the Council has made, provided the Council has made the decision in line with the correct process. The evidence shows the Council has considered Miss X’s supporting statements in line with its policy and has decided it is not appropriate to exercise discretion to overlook Y’s ineligibility. The Council is entitled to make this decision. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman