The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to provide their son with free transport to nursery. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained the Council refused to provide his son (Y) with free transport to nursery. The Council has granted Y’s sister free transport to the school which shares a site with the nursery.
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 Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has explained it has a legal duty to provide free transport to school to certain children. This duty applies to children of statutory school age – those aged five and over. The Council also provides transport to children in Reception who are not yet five but who meet the relevant criteria. The Council has refused Mr X’s request to provide Y with transport. This is because Y is not of statutory school age and attends nursery rather than Reception in a primary school.
While I understand Mr X is disappointed, we will not start an investigation into his complaint.
The Council does not have a statutory duty to provide Y with free transport to nursery. The Council’s published transport policy covers children attending primary and secondary schools. It does not provide discretionary support to children like Y who are attending a nursery on a school site.
The Council’s decision is therefore in line with its statutory duties and published policy. It is not therefore a decision we can criticise. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council for us to investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman