The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his request for a free bus pass for his child. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has treated him unfairly by refusing to give his child (Y) a free bus pass to travel to school from his home address. He says Y spends equal time living with him and their mother. Y receives a free bus pass to travel to school from their mother’s address. Mr X has discovered another child receives a free bus pass to travel from both parents’ homes. Mr X believes this is unfair because the two situations appear the same. Mr X wants to be given the opportunity to present his case to an independent appeals panel or for the Council to issue a free bus pass from both addresses to Y.
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)) We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether the complainant disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
In making its decision not to provide free school transport for Y from Mr X’s property, the Council took account of the relevant guidance and information from Mr X. Its decision to refuse Mr X’s request for a bus pass was in line with its policy which says it will not usually provide transport from multiple addresses regardless of family arrangements. The Council followed the appropriate procedures when making its decision and I cannot therefore criticise it.
While I understand Mr X says the Council provided two bus passes to another child in the same situation. Each case will be considered on its own merits, and the Council has explained why the circumstances in that case were different.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman