Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council refusing to provide her child with transport to school. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms X, complained the Council has refused to provide her daughter (Y) with transport to school.

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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. (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 and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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What I found

School transport

5. The Department for Education has produced statutory guidance for Councils to help understand their duties regarding school transport. The Guidance states councils have a duty to provide free transport to eligible children who attend their nearest suitable school and:
• live more than the statutory walking distance from that school, or
• who live within statutory walking distance of the school but who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to that school because of their special educational needs, disability, or mobility problem (even if accompanied by their parent), or
• who live within walking distance of the school but would not be able to walk to that school in reasonable safety, even if they were accompanied by their parent.
6. The Guidance states a child will not normally be eligible solely because their parent’s work commitment or caring responsibilities mean they are unable to accompany their child to school.
7. Councils also have powers to provide discretionary transport to children who are not eligible children.
8. Councils should have an appeals process for parents to challenge decisions about home to school transport.

Background

9. Ms X asked the Council to provide Y with transport to a school she would be attending on a temporary basis due to health problems. The Council refused Ms X’s application. The Council said the school was within the statutory walking distance of three miles. It said Y could walk to school if accompanied by an adult.
10. Ms X appealed the Council’s decision. She explained the reasons Y could not attend her usual school. Ms X explained how Y’s special educational needs made the walk to school difficult and the route was not safe. Ms X and Y’s father both worked and the walk to school was close to an hour each way. Y attended school on a part-time timetable, and this made taking and collecting her difficult.
11. An independent panel considered Ms X’s appeal at the final stage of the Council’s appeals process. The panel considered the information from Ms X and the Council. The panel decided the Council had properly considered the original application and there were no grounds to make an exception to the Council’s policy.

Assessment

12. We will not start an investigation into Ms X’s complaint.
13. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether a complainant disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
14. In this case, the Council has followed the proper process to consider Ms X’s application and appeals. Ms X had a chance to take part in the appeals process and the stage 2 panel considered all the information presented. The panel wrote to Ms X and explained its decision. While I understand Ms X is disappointed with the panel’s decision, there is not enough evidence of fault in how it was reached for us to become involved.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman