The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms B says the Council failed to properly consider her school transport appeal. The Council accepts it did not give Ms B an opportunity to attend the appeal panel to present her case, which is not in accordance with Government guidance. The Council has offered a further appeal to Ms B where she can attend the panel to present her case. That is satisfactory remedy for the complaint.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms B, complained the Council failed to properly consider her transport appeal for her son. Ms B says this has had a negative impact on her and her family.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended) If we are satisfied with a Council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
As part of the investigation, I have: considered the complaint and Ms B's comments; made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments the Council provided.
Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.
What I found
Summary of the relevant law and guidance Statutory guidance on home to school transport sets out a recommended appeals procedure for Councils to follow. It says, “The intention is to ensure a consistent approach across all local authorities, and to provide an impartial second stage, for those cases that are not resolved at the first stage.” Parents may challenge decisions about the transport arrangements offered, their child’s eligibility, the distance measurement from home to school and the safety of the route.
The guidance recommends a two-stage procedure for school transport appeals.
Stage 1: review by a senior officer. A parent can ask for a review within 20 working days of receiving the Council’s decision. A senior officer should respond within 20 working days and tell the parent the Council’s decision.
Stage 2: review by an independent appeal panel. A parent can ask to escalate their appeal within 20 days of receiving the Council’s response at stage one and an appeal panel should take place within 40 working days of the request. The guidance recommends the parent should be able to make both written and oral representations to the panel.
Analysis Ms B put in an application for school transport for her son. The Council rejected the application and Ms B appealed. An appeal panel considered the case but Ms B was not given an opportunity to present her case to the panel. The panel refused the appeal.
The Council has recently amended its school transport policy in light of a previous Ombudsman investigation. In this case although the Council complied with Government guidance by arranging for an appeal panel to consider the stage two appeal it accepts it did not give Ms B an opportunity to attend the panel to present her case. The Council therefore offered to arrange a further appeal for Ms B. That is a satisfactory remedy for the complaint and there is therefore no need for the Ombudsman to pursue it further.
Agreed action
The Council has agreed to hold a further school transport appeal.
Final decision
I have ended my investigation and uphold Ms B’s complaint. The Council has taken action which has resolved the outstanding issue and no further action by the Ombudsman is needed.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman