The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about The Council refusing free home-to-school transport for Miss X’s children. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation.
The complaint
Miss X said the Council wrongly refused free home-to-school transport for her two children. She said she receives universal credit and the school she has chosen is within the three schools that are nominated for her address.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Where a person has a low income, they are entitled to free home-to-school transport to a choice of three schools between two and six miles from home, unless the choice is faith-based, where the choice is of three schools between two and 15 miles from home.
In other cases, the entitlement for child aged over eight is to free home-to-school transport to the nearest school with free places if that is more than three miles from the family home.
Entitlement ends when a child is no longer of compulsory school age, which is defined by the last Friday in June in the school year in which the child turns 16.
I asked the Council for the appeal papers. It told me it did not receive an appeal for Miss X’s older child, who is above compulsory school age. The appeal papers it sent showed Miss X did not appeal on the basis of low income either in 2021 or 2022. Instead, she referred to other matters. While the preferred school is the third nearest to her home and a person on low income would be likely to be entitled to free home-to-school transport there, that was not the basis of the appeal.
A decision to offer free home-to-school transport for Miss X’s elder child in 2021, when the child was still of compulsory school age, does not mean the Council is at fault in 2022.
Miss X could approach the Council again regarding her younger child if she has evidence of her low income.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman