Issue - meetings

Background:

This report provided details of the proposed action to be taken in relation to a Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) complaint regarding mainstream home to school transport. The LGO advised that the Council’s Policy was not compliant with the statutory guidance issued by the Department for Education (DfE) and they had published a report of findings against the Council on 16 May 2019. The LGO also advised that they had found evidence of fault causing injustice to the relevant family, which must be remedied.

The report stated that in response, officers, having reviewed the case in line with the LGO’s comments and having taken external legal advice, were clear that the Policy was compliant with the statutory guidance. External Counsel advice and clarification from the DfE supported this view that the Medway Council Education Travel Assistance Policy (the formal name for the Council’s home to school transport policy) was in line with the statutory guidance. In addition, the report provided details of the Council’s proposal to resolve the individual case in relation to the LGO complaint.

The report provided a number of options for consideration by the Cabinet to take this matter forward.

Reasons:

The reason for this decision is that officers are of the view that the Medway Council’s Education Travel Assistance Policy is compliant with the DfE statutory guidance. All independent advice received from the DfE and external Counsel supports this view.