Bath and North East Somerset Council (24 013 718)
Category : Education > School transport
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to provide Miss X’s preferred method of school transport for her daughter. The Council has now agreed to provide taxi transport to school which is the outcome Miss X is seeking. Further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council ignored information provided about her child’s disabilities and refuses to provide a home to school taxi.
- She wants the Council to reconsider its decision.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X has a child, Y, who received home to school transport in a coach.
- Miss X complained to the Council the coach was not suitable for Y’s needs and applied for taxi transport. The Council refused her application.
- In response to our enquiries, the Council confirms it received more information from its Special Educational Needs (SEN) Transport Officer. It has now offered Y access to a taxi route transporting SEN pupils to Y’s school.
- Because the Council has now agreed to provide taxi transport for Y, an investigation by us would not achieve anything more. Therefore, we will not consider this complaint further.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council has provided Y with taxi transport to school which is the outcome Miss X was seeking. Further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman