The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council refused to reimburse her for school transport because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council refused to reimburse her for home to school transport she provided for her daughter between 4 December 2025 and 5 January 2026.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X wants the Council to pay for the home to school transport she provided for her daughter between 4 December 2025 and 5 January 2026. The Council arranged transport from 6 January 2026.
I have carefully considered everything Ms X said, although I have not included every detail here. I have included as few details as possible in my decision statement to protect the anonymity of Ms X and her daughter.
The Council refused Ms X’s request because it says she said she wanted transport to start on 6 January 2026 on the application form she submitted.
Further, the Council says that it considered Ms X’s application in 10 working days then and arranged transport in 12 working days. This is quicker than the timescale set out in the Council’s policy.
Ms X disagrees with the Council’s decision because she says the Council paid for her daughter’s school place from 4 December 2025 so she believes the Council is therefore responsible for her transport.
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation. The Council arranged the transport Ms X requested and the arrangements were in place ahead of the timescales set out in the Council’s policy.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman