The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the process followed by the Council to close a local school. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Miss X complained about the process the Council followed to close the school her child attends which she says is discriminatory.
She says that as a result, her child will be disadvantaged. She wants the Ombudsman to stop the school closure.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) 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, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
There are statutory guidelines a council must follow if it wishes to close a school. They include the publication of notices, consultation with specific people and organisations and a public consultation. Consideration must be given to the Council’s public sector equality duty and an equality impact assessment (EIA) must be completed. The final decision will be made by a full council meeting.
Councils can make decisions that disadvantage some people as long as they are not unlawful discrimination but should consider how they can contribute to the advancement of equality or balance the effects of their decisions on these people.
The Council proposed that the school Ms X’s child attends should close. The evidence demonstrates the Council followed the statutory guidelines before making its decision to close the school. There is also evidence to show it considered the outcomes from the EIA and took steps to address any negative impacts identified. Because there is no evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision, we cannot question the decision itself.
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