Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about school transport mileage payments because Mrs X has not suffered injustice significant enough to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council will not make payment for some school transport journeys undertaken in one month in 2023.

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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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(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 the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In deciding a previous complaint, the Ombudsman noted the Council would provide her child with transport to school from a specific month in 2023. We also noted the Council had agreed to pay mileage allowance for some journeys, but found no fault in the way it handled the matter, so we made no recommendations.
6. The Council did not make payment to Mrs X for three journeys shortly after this date. It said it had provided other transport that Mrs X did not use.
7. The Council has outlined its reasons for not paying Mrs X the money she claims she is owed and evidences the alternative transport on offer on the dates in question.
8. The amount of mileage allowance Mrs X considers the Council owes her is not significant enough to warrant us investigating.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of injustice to warrant it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman