Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about home to school transport. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council refused to provide school transport for her child to travel to school earlier than normal on the day of an exam. She says this breached her child’s human rights, was discriminatory and caused distress. She also had to pay for the cost of a taxi. She wants the Council to apologise, refund her the taxi cost and compensate her child for distress caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Government guidance sets out councils’ responsibilities for the provision of home to school transport. The guidance states Council must make arrangements to enable eligible children to travel to and from school at the beginning and end of the school day. They are not required to make arrangements for children to travel between institutions during the school day, or to enable children to attend extra-curricular activities or other commitments outside of school hours.
6. The Council’s policy says it provides school transport at the normal start and finish times of the school day. It is the responsibility of parents or carers to arrange and pay for transports at times other than at the beginning and end of the school day.
7. We will not investigate this complaint as there is insufficient evidence of fault. The Council’s decision that it would not provide transport for Y earlier than the normal school day appears in line with the government guidance and its own school transport policy. Although Ms X disagrees with the decision, I have seen no evidence to indicate the decision breached Ms X or Y’s human rights or was discriminatory.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman