Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council handled a home-to-school travel support application for her child. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to arrange home-to-school transport for her child (Y) who has an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). She says after submitting her application, the Council took over nine weeks to organise transport and only provided a place after she filed a formal complaint.
2. She also complains the Council gave her misleading information about Y’s eligibility for transport support.
3. She says during this time she had to organise public transport which was distressing to her and Y. Miss X wants the Council to pay back her travel expenses, provide compensation for the emotional distress, recognise its failings and review its procedures.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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

(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 Miss X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Y's EHCP, which named the school they would attend, was issued in July 2025. Miss X submitted her application for travel support in September 2025, almost two months after the EHCP was issued.
8. The Council's published policy said applications should be submitted by 1 July because it needs at least two months to process them. The policy also explains the Council cannot guarantee transport will be in place at the start of term where applications are submitted after that date. It is also clear from the Council’s policy it will not be responsible for travel arrangements while a travel request is being considered.
9. The Council told Miss X it took around nine weeks to process her application because it still needed to complete the necessary checks. It also said there were operational issues affecting the requested route which it needed to resolve before adding further passengers. The fact transport was arranged the day after Miss X made a formal complaint does not, by itself, show fault. I am also satisfied the Council explained the eligibility criteria to Miss X in line with its policy and the relevant statutory guidance. Based on the information available, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman