The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to accept Ms X’s medical evidence in support of her application for school transport. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council will not accept the medical evidence she has submitted in support of her application for 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 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, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X complained that the Council would not accept information provided by a GP showing that her child Y was awaiting assessment for a health condition that would make Y eligible for school transport.
The Council did not uphold Ms X’s complaint and would not agree to escalate her complaint as its policy did not class the information she provided as sufficient to make Y eligible for school transport.
Ms X wants us to find the Council at fault. The Ombudsman cannot instruct the Council to consider the information as sufficient to meet the eligibility criteria. The Ombudsman cannot question the merits of the Council’s decision provided it has made the decision in line with its policy. The evidence does not show fault in the Council's decision making. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman