Coventry Council changes free school transport appeals after ombudsman ruling

Ombudsman Michael King said the council’s policies did not meet statutory guidelines after a father complained he was not allowed to give verbal evidence at his child’s hearing.

The man was appealing Coventry's decision not to give his child free school transport when he was told he could only make a written submission.

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An investigation by the ombudsman found the council did not allow parents the chance to make verbal representations at the appeal panel stage, and instead would only consider written evidence.

This left the man not knowing whether being able to attend the hearing would have made a difference to his child’s case, King said.

In his ruling, the ombudsman found that the council had “made the decision to depart from statutory guidance to speed up the process and save money”.

“These are not valid or acceptable reasons to depart from statutory guidance.

“Denying the right to make verbal representations could disadvantage parents, particularly those who cannot express themselves as well in writing as they might in person.

“I’m pleased Coventry City Council has accepted my recommendations and has now amended its policy so other parents are not affected in the same way,” King concluded.

He added that he wanted to highlight the case publicly alongside his report of a case heard in Buckinghamshire last week “to give all councils the chance to reflect on their school transport and appeal procedures to ensure they do not depart from statutory guidance without valid reasons.”

The Buckinghamshire case saw a mother complain to the ombudsman that she had only been paid for two legs of her daily journeys to her child’s special school when Buckinghamshire council told her it did not have the right transport, because of the child’s specific needs.

The child, who has sensory difficulties and high levels of anxiety, was eligible for free school transport to get to the school eight miles away but instead of paying the mother for all four legs of the daily journeys, the mother only received half the amount.

The mother, who also has another child with Special Educational Needs, complained through the council’s appeal process but the ombudsman found it was “flawed” and had communicated poorly with the mother, demanding evidence it should have sought itself.

“At one point it even requested information from the wrong school,” King said.

The ombudsman’s investigation criticised the way the council handled the appeal, which was delayed and found there was not enough evidence to support the council’s claimed actions during the delay period.

King said: “This case raises the question of whether the child was actually in receipt of the free transport they were eligible for, if the mother was out of pocket, and had no option but to provide it.

“I am concerned the council does not have sufficient transport provision that they have a statutory duty to provide, so I have asked it to review its current services to see where improvements can be made.

“I hope that by agreeing to carry out this recommendation, the council will ensure no other families are affected in future.”

The council has agreed to reimburse the mother for the mileage for the return journeys from September 2018, and pay for all four legs of the journey going forward.

It will also apologise and pay her £50 for each week she took the children to school from September 2018.