The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Miss X’s request for home to school transport. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about the Council’s handling of her request it provide her child with home to school transport. The Council refused Miss X’s original request and has said it will not consider her appeal because it was submitted late.
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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not start an investigation into Miss X’s complaint.
When the Council refused Miss X’s application it explained there was a 20-day deadline for challenging its decision. The Council told Miss X the date she needed to appeal by. The Council is entitled to have timescales it expects parents to stick to when appealing its decisions. Miss X’s appeal was submitted after the deadline the Council told Miss X about. The Council’s decision not to consider Miss X’s appeal is in line with its published policy and the information it sent Miss X. It is a decision the Council is entitled to reach and there is not enough evidence of fault for us to be able to question the Council’s decision. Our further involvement is not therefore warranted.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman