The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to reject Mrs X’s application for home to school transport on behalf of her child with special educational needs. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to reject her application and subsequent appeals for home to school transport on behalf of her child Y, who has special educational needs (SEN).
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X applied to the Council for free home to school transport on behalf of her child Y, citing Y’s SEN as the reason she was unable to access public transport. She also provided a copy of Y’s education, health and care plan in support of her application.
The Council rejected the application stating Y did not meet the distance or mobility criteria to qualify for home to school transport. The Council said there was no evidence Y’s SEN prevented her from walking to school accompanied by an adult.
Mrs X appealed the Council’s decision twice, stating the Council had failed to consider Y’s SEN. The Council maintained its decision and turned down both appeals. Mrs X then brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.
The evidence shows the Council has considered Mrs X’s application and supporting information in line with its policy and decided Y is not eligible for home to school transport. The Ombudsman cannot question or criticise the outcome of a council’s decision provided the council has acted without fault in making this decision. There is no evidence the Council has acted with fault in rejecting Mrs X’s application. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman