Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about school transport provided by the taxi service commissioned by the Council. This is because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to ensure the taxi service used to pick up her son followed the safeguarding procedures at drop off.
2. She says her son was left unsupervised. This has left her feeling anxious about using the taxi service and is unwilling to use them now, which is preventing her son from attending school.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X complained to the Council about how the taxi service acted when no responsible adult was available to let her son in.
7. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint as our investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
8. In response to her complaint the Council accepted the taxi service should not have acted as it did. It said that it had reminded the taxi service of its policy, it had reported the matter as a safeguarding incident and agreed to review her son’s transport.
9. We have also recently recommended service improvements by the taxi service around safeguarding children during home to school transport.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because our investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman