Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about home to school transport. It is unlikely we could add significantly to the Council’s replies.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about issues relating to her child’s home to school transport.

Back to top

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; or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement; or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Miss X which included the Council’s replies to her.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. Miss X’s child, Y, receives home to school transport. In 2024 she complained to the Council about incidents and problems with the transport. The Council replied at stage one and two of its complaints’ procedure. The stage two reply being in December 2024.
7. Some of her complaint is about incidents in the spring of 2023. She complained about these incidents in May 2023 and then included them later on in 2024. We cannot investigate these incidents because they have been known to Miss X for more than 12 months before she complained to us. And there are no reasons the 12 months rule should not apply.
8. Miss X says the Council did not give her or Y enough time to deal with a change to the transport in September 2024. The Council apologised. We are unlikely to achieve more.
9. Miss X says the Council should have carried out a risk assessment following an incident in May 2024 when the driver said an object carried by Y had to go in the car boot. The Council says it investigated the incident and decided that was enough. We are unlikely to criticise this decision.
10. Miss X says the Council failed to tell her she could ask for direct payments to pay for her own home to school transport. I have seen no evidence that she asked whether she could do this or for alternatives to the transport on offer. The Council has apologised for not telling her. We are unlikely to recommend any further remedy.
11. Miss X also complains about delays in the replies to her complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s reply to her complaints.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman