Council to reimburse foster carer's school transport costs

City of Wolverhampton Council told foster carer, Ms X, that she was not entitled to be reimbursed for the cost of driving three children in her care to schools at periods between April 2016 and April 2018.

She was instead told to use money from the children’s allowances, she told the ombudsman.

“Ms X says it left her with less to spend on the children and she needed to use her personal savings. Ms X considers both she and the children suffered because of this,” the LGO report states.

Between April 2016 and January 2017, Ms X drove two foster children, J aged seven and K aged nine, to and from their school 2.8 miles away from her home. The journeys totalled 56 miles a week, the report states.

Between February 2017 and April 2018, Ms X fostered a third child, referred to as L, aged five, who continued to study at a school 4.6 miles away from her home. He had attended the school prior to his placement, the report states.

Ms X drove L 92 miles a week to and from school, it adds. 

The foster carer submitted a mileage claim to the council in January 2018 after reading an LGO report on the issue but was told by the council that as the journeys totalled less than 200 miles a week, the distance was covered by the children’s allowance.

However, ombudsman Micheal King found that Ms X was entitled to be reimbursed, in accordance with statutory guidelines, for taking the two children under eight years old, J and L, to school as they travelled more than two miles.

King's ruling says: "The council’s refusal to fund Ms X’s school transport costs for J and L was at fault. It did not comply with the law and statutory guidance. The council failed to interpret the law correctly and it has caused an injustice to Ms X, J and L. This is because its failure to provide them with free school transport has caused them a financial disadvantage."

Following the decision, the council agreed to apologise to and reimburse Ms X for transporting the younger children to school.

It also agreed to pay Ms X £500 and write to all its foster carers inviting them to complain to the council if they believe they were wrongly denied free home to school transport for their foster children who were eligible, from August 2017.

King said: “We have previously issued two reports about very similar matters, and I wrote to the Association of Directors of Children’s Services to highlight the issue at the time of the 2017 report. The council should therefore have been well aware its policy was flawed.

“I am pleased the council has since agreed to improve its policies and procedures, and has agreed to look at the cases of other foster carers who have been affected by the policy.

“I would urge other councils to check their agreements to ensure they are not disadvantaging their foster carers and the children they look after.”