Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s school transport service. This is because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken, or proposes to take.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council wrongly used taxis to transport her child, Y to college. She said on one occasion, Y was driven to the wrong address and was distressed by the experience. Mrs X said she was worried Y had been abducted, and Y is now fearful of using transport and is missing their college placement. She would like the Council to carry out a full investigation, formally apologise and provide financial compensation for the harm caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended).
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mrs X contacted the Council about its use of taxis to transport Y to college. In an email response, the Council said that taxis had been used when the usual bus transport was unable to get to Y’s college on time. Although Mrs X was unhappy with this use of taxis, we will not investigate this part of the complaint. This is because I have reviewed Y’s transport assessment and there is nothing to say that she could not be transported in taxis. The Council has explained that these were needed to ensure that she attended college on time. There is not enough evidence of fault of the Council’s use of taxi’s during this period.
8. Mrs X complained to the Council after her child, Y was driven home from college to the wrong address. Mrs X said the experience was traumatic for her and Y, and left Y missing one day of college a week. She also complained that the Council’s use of taxis to transport Y was inappropriate.
9. In its complaint response, the Council apologised that it mistakenly gave Y’s taxi the wrong address and confirmed the data breach had been reported internally. The Council stated it had carried out a strict suitability check and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for the taxi driver.
10. The Council said that it had made a safeguarding referral to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) regarding Y’s taxi journey. It explained to Mrs X that it could not share the results of the LADO’s investigation, but it offered to meet with Mrs X to clarify that appropriate action had taken place.
11. In its complaint response, the Council explained to Mrs X what steps it had taken to prevent such an incident recurring including reminders to staff and process changes. It also said the shared minibus for Y had been reinstated.
12. The Council also apologised to Mrs X for the delay in responding to her complaints. The Council offered Mrs X and Y each a payment of £250 in reflection of the distress caused by the incident, the disruption to Y’s education and Mrs X’s time and trouble chasing the matter with the Council.
13. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has apologised to Mrs X, provided her with a detailed response about its actions and offered suitable financial remedies in the form of two symbolic payments to remedy the injustice to Mrs X, and Y. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies. It would not be proportionate to consider this matter further. We are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken, or proposes to take.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman