The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council refusing to provide home to school transport. It is unlikely we would find fault.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, says the Council has failed to provide home to school transport for her child, 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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Y has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). This states the Council believes a local mainstream school could meet Y’s needs. Mrs X chose to get a place at a fee paying independent school instead.
Mrs X says she asked the Council to provide home to school transport as Y has disabilities. She says the Council told her this could be provided within a personal budget. She says this never happened. She says she was then told to apply for home to school transport in the usual way. She did and the Council rejected her application. Mrs X appealed using the Council’s home to school transport appeals process. She was unsuccessful. The Council said it had no statutory obligation to provide transport to Y and that it would be an inefficient use of resources to do so.
The school or type named as suitable in the young person’s EHC plan, is the school the council has determined is the nearest suitable school for the child. It is therefore the nearest ‘qualifying school’ for the child to attend for school transport consideration. (S and another v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2012] EWCA Civ 346.) Where the child is attending the ‘nearest suitable school’, they will qualify for free transport, provided any other relevant conditions are met.
In Y’s case the named school is a mainstream school. Y is not attending that type of school and therefore does not qualify for home to school transport support. It is unlikely our investigation would find fault with the Council’s decision not to provide home to school transport.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman