Summary: We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint about school transport because events before September 2024 are too old, and the Council arranged an appeal for Ms M to challenge the mileage rate she receives. This is a reasonable way to resolve the dispute.

The complaint

1. Ms M complains about her dealings with the Council in connection with school transport for her son since he started school in 2017. The Council has paid a mileage allowance and Ms M has provided the transport herself. She complains about the payments she received and the time it has taken to resolve problems she has encountered over the years.
2. Ms M believes the Council should pay a higher rate mileage allowance to reflect her son’s needs and backdate the higher payments to 2017.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(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 Ms M and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The law says that complaints to us must be made within 12 months of the day on which the person affected first had notice of the matter. We have discretion to disapply this restriction if we consider it appropriate to do so.
8. Ms M complained to us on 12 September 2025. She offered to provide evidence of her communications with the Council since 2017 which she says have been extensive. I am grateful for Ms M’s offer.
9. However, I have decided that much of Ms M’s complaint is late. We will not consider events before 12 September 2024, that is 12 months before Ms M complained to us. I am satisfied Ms M could have complained to us sooner, and it would have been reasonable for her to have done so given her unsuccessful attempts to resolve her disagreements with the Council.
10. I note the Council attempted to respond to older complaints, but encountered difficulties because staff no longer work for the Council, and information (for example information on the Council’s website at the time) was no longer available. These are additional good reasons why we will not consider events before September 2024. We could not add to the Council’s investigation.
11. Ms M disputed the rate at which the Council pays for the transport she provides. The Ombudsman does not decide how much Ms M should receive. This is the Council’s job. Further investigation would not, itself, lead to a different outcome.
12. The Council declined to respond to Ms M’s complaint about the matter because, at the time of the Council’s response, the Council was considering an appeal from Ms M about the mileage rate.
13. I consider an appeal is an appropriate way to settle the matter. If Ms M is dissatisfied once the Council has considered her appeal, she can submit a new complaint to us about the appeal.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint because events before September 2024 are too old, and the Council had arranged an appeal for Ms M to challenge the mileage rate she receives.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman