Councils need to consider families’ individual circumstances when offering transport solutions for teenagers (16+) with Special Educational Needs to get them to school or college, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has said.

The message comes after the Ombudsman investigated three complaints about the way Derby City Council failed to consider people’s circumstances when offering personal transport budgets (financial payments based on mileage) – when the families said the only viable option was a taxi or minibus.

In all three cases, the council had decided it was necessary for it to provide support because the young people’s needs met the criteria set out in its own policy. But the council did not then check whether the solution offered did the job of actually getting the young people to their school or college.

The parents were expected to get their teenagers to school using the allowance but, where this left a shortfall in the full cost of their transport, the council failed to consider if this was affordable for each family.

In one case a mother gave up work to drive her child to school because the amount offered by the council was not enough to cover the cost of the taxi she considered was necessary, which would have been £80 per day.

In another case, a mother said she and her partner were already using their own cars to get their other three children, who all had special educational needs, to their schools. She said a taxi was the only way to get her older child to school, but the budget offered by the council was too low to fund this. The family’s only option was to drop off their child late and pick them up early, and the child missed out on vital special education provision set out in their Education, Health and Care Plan.

In the third case, a mother was offered an allowance even though she did not drive. The mother had to arrange a shared taxi with another family at a cost of £144 per day. The budget she was offered was £4,240 per year, a shortfall of more than £11,800 per year.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said:

“Councils must demonstrate they have considered the options offered to individual families, who are entitled to transport support, that actually provide a practical, safe and affordable solution to allow them to attend. They should not be given a simple ‘one size fits all’ blanket offer.

“Derby City Council has now accepted my recommendations to improve its service, including revising its policy. I hope this will mean it properly considers families’ applications in future.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the families concerned and provide the first family with £1,000 to acknowledge the time, trouble and distress of its faults. It will offer the second family £1,490 for the distress and time and trouble, plus a further amount to cover mileage expenses for 124 days attendance. It will also pay the family £1,600 to recognise the child’s missed school attendance. The third family will receive £150 to acknowledge the time, trouble and uncertainty caused by its failure to consider their application properly. In two of the three cases the council has already reversed its decision and agreed to provide a taxi.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to issue a notice on its website for all post-16 learners who applied for transport between April 2023 and July 2024 to contact the council if they consider their application was incorrectly assessed.

It will also ensure officers are aware of their duty to consider individual circumstances when looking at applications and record notes to show they have done so. It will also provide guidance to transport staff to proactively signpost parent carers to its social care department for needs assessments.

Article date: 05 June 2025