Leicestershire mum paid £125 a day due to school transport delays

Inflation and increasing demand for key services have made the situation worse, the report said

A Leicestershire mum had to pay £125 a day to get her son to school due to council delays in arranging suitable transport for him.

The mother paid £7,250 for home-to-school transport for her disabled child between September 2021 and January 2022, an ombudsman report found.

Leicestershire County Council has apologised to the family and repaid their expenses following the report.

The council said it would ensure "lessons are learned".

A report, published by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said the woman - named only as Ms B - had applied for funding to get her son - identified only as C - to and from school in February 2021.

C is blind and epileptic, and so "requires constant supervision to administer medication in case of a seizure", the report said.

Child C needs constant supervision on their way to school due to their epilepsy, the report said

It revealed the application was not considered by the council for two months, and it was not until June 2021 that Ms B received a Personal Transport Budget (PTB) offer.

She appealed against the offer, saying she needed specialist transport for C that she could not obtain using a PTB, and needed the council's help to put it in place.

In October 2021, a month after the start of the new school term, the council agreed it should provide suitable transport for C.

However, Ms B was told it would not be in place for up to six weeks, forcing her to arrange taxis for C herself, paying about £125 a day.

The council started to provide transport in January 2022, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Findings accepted

Ms B asked the council to reimburse her for the money she had already spent on transport, but was told the authority "did not reimburse the costs of transport arrangements made by parents during the period of the transport appeal".

The ombudsman found there were a number of faults in the way the council handled the matter, resulting in "anxiety" and "avoidable distress" for Ms B.

It said the council risked "disproportionately affecting" children and young people with special needs, as they were "less likely to have their appeals heard in time for transport to be put in place for the start of term".

The council said it accepted the ombudsman's findings.

"We've apologised to the family and we're now actively working on addressing the other recommendations set out by the ombudsman," a spokesperson said.

"We take all complaints extremely seriously and improvements in our processes are now being put in place. As with any complaint which is upheld, it ensures lessons are learned."

Ms B will be repaid her expenses, minus the £660 she would normally be expected to contribute towards transport costs.