Overview
The complaint concerned the disputed transport of two pupils with special educational needs to and from their school and the alleged subsequent effect of the transport dispute on the pupils and their families; and the manner in which North Lanarkshire Council (the Council)’s Education Department dealt with the complaint.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are:
- (a) the way the Council dealt with the disputed transport of two pupils with special educational needs to and from their school between August 2001 and July 2002 and the alleged subsequent effect of the transport dispute on the pupils and their families (upheld); and
- (b) the manner in which the Council’s Education Department dealt with the complaint from the families of the pupils to the Chief Executive of the Council in March 2003. This included the alleged contrast in the way the Council’s Education and Social Work Departments respectively dealt with the families’ separate but related complaints (not upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) make a redress payment of the sum of £1,000 to Mr and Mrs C, in recognition of the anxiety and frustration they suffered during the course of their dispute with the Council and for their time and trouble in pursuing their complaint;
- (ii) make a redress payment of the sum of £1,000 to Mr and Mrs A, in recognition of the anxiety and frustration they suffered during the course of their dispute with the Council and for their time and trouble in pursuing their complaint;
- (iii) issue Mr and Mrs C with a full, formal apology for the manner in which the Council, in particular the Education Department, dealt with the school transport dispute;
- (iv) issue Mr and Mrs A with a full, formal apology for the manner in which the Council, in particular the Education Department, dealt with the school transport dispute;
- (v) review the administrative procedures to ensure (a) there is a system for proper liaison and cooperation between different Council departments; (b) that relevant information is shared between those departments; and (c) that, as far as possible, the maladministration identified in this Report does not recur;
- (vi) review the system for handling complaints so that all of its departments can demonstrate to a complainant that their complaint has been fairly, impartially and thoroughly investigated; and
- (vii) review the system for handling complaints so that, where a complaint relates to more than one Council department, consideration should be given to designating a lead officer to deal with the whole complaint, thereby ensuring consistency in the handling of that complaint.