Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about changes to home to school pick up times. The alleged fault is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about changes in home to school transport, and the communication around this.

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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; or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement; or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization. (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 Mrs X which includes the Council’s reply.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council provides home to school transport for Mrs X’s child, B. In November 2024 the Council told Mrs X the times for pick up would change, less than a week before this was due to start. Mrs X says B and her family needed more time to prepare for the change.
6. The change in pick up time meant B no longer had a journey to school of around an hour. This is longer than the home to school national guidance. Instead B's journey was less than 30 minutes. The Council says the pick up time was inconsistent for the first two to three weeks but settled down. Mrs X says this inconsistency unsettled B and her family.
7. Mrs X is also concerned that the drop off time means she may not always be there. She is worried as she says the Council’s policy is to take the child to base, if the parent does not arrive within five minutes. The Council says, the child’s travel personal assistant will be in text contact with an arrival time and traffic means the arrival can never be precisely timed. It says it expects parents to be there for drop off as not being so delays other children’s journeys.

Analysis

8. We are unlikely to criticise the Council for changing the route. This has to happen from time to time and it has meant B’s journey is shorter. The teething problems following the route changes cannot always be avoided and here they are comparably minimal. The Council says it monitored the schedule. We could not add to its reply. And our investigation would be unlikely to find significant fault which has caused significant enough injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the alleged fault is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman