How do I Appeal a Travel Assistance Decision?
If you are not happy with the home to school/college travel support we have offered your child, or we have refused your application, you have a right to appeal.
If you are unhappy with a decision about your transport application, you can ask for a Stage 1 appeal if you disagree about:
- Whether your child is eligible
- The distance to school
- The safety of the route
- The type of travel help offered (like personal transport budgets)
While your appeal is being considered, your child will not receive travel assistance unless the appeal concerns the type of travel assistance offered. In that case, the offered travel help will continue until a decision is made. If you are appealing a change to existing travel help, the current arrangements will stay in place until the review is finished.
When making decisions, the following things are usually not considered:
- Parents’ work or other commitments
- Siblings going to other schools
- Work experience placements
- Any address other than the child’s home (like a childminder’s)
- Occasional visits to other places
- Before or after-school clubs
You must appeal within 20 days of receiving a decision
Stage 1: Senior Officer Review
Stage one: Senior officer review
The first stage of an appeal is a review of your case by a senior officer.
In your request, explain why you want a review and include anything important you think was missed before.
After the council reviews your case, you will get a letter within 20 working days.
The letter will tell you:
- What the decision is
- How the review was done
- What was considered
- If other departments or agencies were asked
- Why the decision was made
If your stage one appeal is not upheld, you have the right to proceed to a stage two appeal.
Stage Two: Independent Panel Review
Stage two: Independent panel review
If you’re not happy with the decision from stage one, you can fill out a Stage 2 appeal form to have your case looked at by an independent panel. This panel is separate from those who made the first decisions. It includes experienced people like council officers, councillors, and an independent member.
You must request a stage two appeal within 20 working days of receiving the stage one decision letter. The panel will usually look at your appeal within 40 working days of your request.
If you have any extra documents to support your case, send them at least 10 working days before your hearing. You’ll get a copy of all the paperwork at least 7 days before the review.
The panel will consider every appeal fairly, regardless of whether everyone is present. If they need more information, they may pause the review to get it.
After the review, you’ll get a letter (usually within 5 working days) explaining:
- The decision
- How your review was carried out
- If other departments or agencies were asked for input
- What was considered
- why the decision was made
If you remain dissatisfied after the Stage 2 appeal, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for further assistance
Local Government Ombudsman
Local Government Ombudsman
You can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman if you think the correct process wasn’t followed or if something went wrong with your review.
For further assistance, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (Opens in new tab) or call 0300 061 0614