Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing free home-to-school transport. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decision making.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refused to provide free home-to-school transport for his children, who is already enrolled in a school. Mr X complains the Council considered the application against its current policy. Mr X says the Council should have considered their application with regards the previous policy, which was in place when his son started school. Mr X also says the Council’s current policy is unclear.

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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 Mr X.
4. I considered the relevant statutory guidance.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X’s children have been enrolled at their current school for some years and are not receiving free home-to-school transport. Mr X has moved home and applied for free home-to-school transport between the new home and the same school.
7. Councils have a duty to provide free home-to-school transport for eligible children. The Council’s home-to-school travel policy provides details of how it assesses eligibility for school transport and how it will meet its duties. The Council decided Mr X’s children were not eligible for free home-to-school transport, under its policy. The policy does not entitle a child to free transport in the circumstances of Mr X’s children.
8. Mr X’s children may have been eligible to free home-to-school transport if a previous version of the policy were applied to their current circumstances. Mr X says the Government’s statutory guidance means the Council should apply the version of the policy that was live when his children first enrolled in the school.
9. He cites the statutory guidance which says, “Wherever possible, local authorities should phase in changes so that children who begin attending a school under one set of travel arrangements continue to benefit from those arrangements until they leave that school.” As Mr X’s child did not have a set of travel arrangements when the policy changed, I see no fault in the Council not considering this part of the guidance applicable. Nor do I consider the guidance obliges the Council to consider Mr X child’s case under the previous policy. We are unlikely to find fault with the Council’s decision to consider the case using its current policy.
10. Mr X also says the Council’s policy is not clear enough about what happens when families change address in the circumstances in which his family did so. The policy need not consider every scenario. I consider the policy is clear enough that it will apply the normal criteria for school transport entitlement where a family moves house. Any investigation by us is unlikely to fault the Council on this point.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault with the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman