Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to decline Mr Y’s application for school transport assistance. Mrs X says Mr Y will not be able to access his education if transport assistance is not provided. We do not find fault with how the Council considered Mrs X’s application or appeals.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about how the Council considered Mr Y’s application for transport assistance. Mrs X says Mr Y cannot get to his educational setting without assistance.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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)
5. 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

6. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law

8. The law on school or college transport changes when a young person moves from compulsory school age to sixth form age.
9. Councils do not have to provide free or subsidised travel assistance for 16-19 year olds. However, they must prepare and publish an annual transport policy statement specifying the arrangements for the provision of transport the Council considers necessary to facilitate attendance of those of sixth form age receiving education or training. (Education Act 1996 509AA and statutory guidance).
10. The statement must include the details of the transport arrangements and the details of financial support in respect of reasonable travelling expenses the Council considers it necessary to make. These can include, but are not limited to:
• A concessionary fares scheme
• A bus pass or cash equivalent
• Independent travel training
• A fixed mileage allowance
• Provision of actual transport.
11. Councils should have an appeals process in place for parents who wish to appeal about the eligibility of their young person for travel support.
12. 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 Council’s policy

13. The Council’s Travel Assistance Policy for learners aged 16-25 (the policy) can be found on its website.
14. The policy states the Council will only provide travel assistance for learners of sixth form age where it considers that travel assistance has been demonstrated as necessary to enable the young person to reasonably access their education or training provision.
15. The policy also sets out how parents can appeal against decisions on their transport applications, and this mirrors the guidance set out above.

What happened

16. I have summarised below some key events leading to Mrs X’s complaint. While I have considered everything submitted, this is not intended to be a detailed account of what took place.
17. In July 2024, Mrs X made an application for travel assistance as Mr Y was due to start a course at a college. Mrs X explained the college was more than 20 miles from Mr X’s home and, without travel assistance, he would not be able to access the course. Mrs X explained it was not walkable, and Mr Y could not make the journey by public transport unaccompanied.
18. The Council responded to Mrs X’s application later that month. It explained it does not have a duty to provide free or subsidised post-16 travel support, but exercises discretion to do so where it considers it necessary to enable a young person to access their education or training provision. The Council explained its overriding expectation was that parents would take reasonable measures to get their young person to their educational setting and Mrs X had not evidenced that Mr Y could not attend college without travel assistance. It also explained if Mrs X felt extenuating circumstances meant Mr Y could not attend college without travel assistance, she could submit a Stage One appeal.
19. Mrs X submitted a Stage One appeal in July 2024. Mrs X reiterated that the college was more than 20 miles from Mr Y’s home by road and public transport took almost two hours. Mrs X said she could not accompany Mr Y for each journey, and he was now old enough to be considered an adult, meaning she did not have parental responsibility to do so. Mrs X also provided supporting evidence.
20. The Council responded to Mrs X’s appeal in August 2024. It explained it had considered all the available evidence but had decided not to award travel assistance to Mr Y as it did not feel Mrs X had demonstrated he could not attend college without this. The Council acknowledged the distance between Mr X’s home and college but reiterated that it expected parents to take responsibility for facilitating travel and it had seen no reason why this would not be possible for Mrs X. The Council explained Mrs X could escalate her appeal to Stage Two if she remained unhappy.
21. In September 2024 Mrs X asked the Council to consider her appeal at Stage Two. Mrs X said Mr Y was an adult so she was not responsible for accompanying him to college and he could not make the journey on his own. Mrs X said without travel assistance, Mr Y would not be able to access his education.
22. Mrs X’s appeal was heard by the Stage Two panel in October 2024. Mrs X has said she was not given notice to prepare an oral statement for this by the Council, but the evidence she had already provided contained her arguments.
23. Following the panel hearing, in October 2024, the Council wrote to Mrs X to explain the panel had considered all the evidence and arguments she had provided but decided not to award transport assistance to Mr Y. The Council explained the panel had decided it had applied its policy correctly and unanimously agreed Mrs X had not presented sufficient evidence to make an exception to this.

Analysis

24. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means it is not our role to take a second look at a decision not to provide school transport to decide if it was right or wrong.
25. Instead, we look at the processes a council followed to make its decisions. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, and they were in line with the relevant law and guidance, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether a complainant disagrees with it.
26. The Council’s duty is to publish a transport statement for post-16 pupils explaining what support is available. There is no obligation on a Council to provide free home to school transport to those of sixth form age on the same basis as for those eligible at compulsory school age. The Council publishes its policy on its website, and I do not find it at fault here.
27. The Council responded promptly to Mrs X’s initial application, and explained Mr Y was not eligible for travel assistance because she had not demonstrated he could not attend college without travel assistance. I do not find the Council at fault here as it correctly applied the guidance and its policy when making its decision.
28. When the Council responded to Mrs X’s Stage One appeal, it explained what it had considered and how it determined Mr Y was not eligible for travel assistance in line with its policy and the guidance. The Council correctly followed the guidance and its policy, so I do not find fault with its decision-making process.
29. Mrs X has said the Council did not provide her with information about the stage two appeal panel until the day before the hearing and so she was not aware she needed to prepare an oral statement. However, the Council’s appeal process document, which was provided to Mrs X, explains parents will have 10 minutes to summarise their case to the panel. On balance, it appears Mrs X was given the relevant information, and I could not find the Council at fault here.
30. Having looked through the outcome letter explaining how it reached its decision, I am satisfied the panel considered all the submissions and points made by both the Council and Mrs X. It is not my role to say how much weight the panel should give to any particular argument or submission. The panel considered everything it was presented with, and I do not find fault with its decision-making process.

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Decision

31. I do not find the Council at fault, and I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman