Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about a school transport failure and the Council’s response to her concerns. There is insufficient outstanding injustice and an investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about a school transport failure and the Council’s response to her concerns. She says despite upholding her complaint, it has failed to fully investigate or put in place clear service improvements to prevent recurrence of the fault.

Back to top

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:

• any outstanding injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. In its complaint response, the Council apologised for its initial failure to respond to her reimbursement request for the taxi fare she paid on the day the transport could not take her child to school. It said it had since reimbursed her this cost. It said its school transport team was aware of the incident, which it will review with its officers. It said it did not consider it proportionate to carry out further investigation or provide her with a list of service improvements.
7. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has apologised for its initial failure to respond and reimbursed her the taxi costs. There is insufficient outstanding injustice to warrant an investigation.
8. The Council has told Ms X its school transport team is aware of her complaint and will review its officers’ handling of the matter. It has explained why it does not agree further investigation or the service improvements she requests to be a proportionate use if its resources. This is a decision the Council is entitled to make. An investigation by us is unlikely to reach a different outcome.

Back to top

Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient outstanding injustice and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman