Denbighshire County Council

Mrs A complained that the Council had refused to provide school transport for her daughter, who had additional learning needs. Mrs A’s appeal was refused at stage 1. She sought to appeal the decision at Stage 2, but was outside the Council’s timescales.

The Ombudsman found that, whilst there was no evidence that the initial decision was not properly taken, the Council did not appear to have considered relevant information about the child’s additional learning needs submitted at the appeal stage. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.

The Council agreed to provide Mrs A with a written response explaining the reasons for its decision and setting out the process for applying for school transport under its ALN procedures.