Council wrongly denies school transport to child facing three-mile walk

A spokesperson for Ealing Council said: “We sincerely apologise for the fault in the way we conducted this appeal. Supporting residents with extra needs is a top priority for us. Since the ombudsman’s decision, we have held another stage 2 complaint appeal panel about this case, which found that the family met the necessary eligibility criteria due to the child’s significant sensory difficulties. We have apologised to the family and compensated them for our mistake. To ensure it does not happen again, we have provided further training on the relevant laws to our team.”