Home to School Travel Support Appeals Two Stage Appeals Process A Guide for Parents and Carers Issued July 2015 Reviewed April 2016 - no amendments made Next Review date May 2017
Contents Introduction 3 Stage one: Review by the Travel Support Review Panel 3 Stage two: Hearing by the Travel Support Appeal Panel 4 How do I make an appeal under Stage Two of the process? 4 What happens next? 4 Who attends the Appeal Panel? 5 Will I have to attend the hearing? 5 How do I prepare my case? 6 What happens at the appeal? 7 How does the Appeal Panel reach a decision? 7 How will I find out the result of my appeal? 8 Is the appeal decision final? 8 If my appeal is unsuccessful can I appeal again? 8 CONTACT POINTS 8 2
Introduction The appeal procedure is governed by Home to School Travel and Transport Statutory guidance for local authorities published July 2014. This guidance explains how to make an Appeal through the two stage process and tells you what happens at an Appeal Hearing. If a travel application has been declined under Liverpool City Council s Home to School Transport Policy, a parent/carer can submit an appeal requesting that the decision is reviewed. The decision will be reviewed under Stage One of the Travel Support appeals procedure. Stage one: Review by the Travel Support Review Panel which is made up of Senior Officers. 1. A parent or carer has 20 working days from receipt of the local authority s home to school transport decision to submit an appeal form asking for a review of the decision. 2. The appeal form should detail why you believe the decision should be reviewed and give details of any personal and/or family circumstances you believe should be considered when the decision is reviewed. 3. The Stage One appeal form is an important part of your case and should be completed carefully. It will help the panel review your decision if you include on the form every detail, which you feel is relevant to your appeal and provide supplementary evidence to support your request. Examples of the supplementary evidence may include: a letter or report from your family doctor or hospital to support your case. You should ask the doctor to say why, in his/her opinion, your child s medical condition means they require travel support or are unable to attend their nearest suitable school. a letter from a Headteacher or Teacher, a Pupil Attendance and Welfare Officer, a Doctor, a Police Officer etc. to support evidence of bullying legal documents where custody arrangements are in place or legal agreements that have been made 4. Within 20 working days of receipt of the parent/carer s appeal form the Travel Support Review Panel reviews the original decision and sends the parent/carer a detailed written notification of the outcome of their review, setting out: the nature of the decision reached; how the review was conducted information about other departments and/or agencies that were consulted as part of the process; what factors were considered; the rationale for the decision reached; and information about how the parent/carer can escalate their case to stage two. 3
Stage two: Hearing by the Travel Support Appeal Panel At the appeal hearing, you are given the opportunity to attend the appeal hearing and tell an Independent Appeal Panel, why you wish your application to be reviewed. This guidance explains how to make an Appeal and tells you what happens at an Appeal Hearing. It should be noted that this guide is not intended as a substitute for independent legal advice and no liability is accepted if any of the information contained in it is incorrect or alters after publication. How do I make an appeal under Stage Two of the process? 1. If the Travel Support Review Panel refuses your application for home to school travel support you can progress the appeal to Stage two of the process. 2. A parent/carer has 20 working days from receipt of the local authority s stage one written decision notification to make a written request to escalate the matter to stage two. 3. You should make your application in writing or email to Democratic Services. Make sure you have read this booklet before submitting your appeal and ask someone to help you if you have any problems. If you require advice about the process you can contact Democratic Services on 0151 233 0411. 4. It is important that you include in your written submission every detail, which you feel is relevant to your appeal. The information will be made available to the Appeal Panel before the hearing along with your review form considered under Stage One of the appeals process and the decision taken by the Travel Support Review Panel, and it is therefore important that you complete it carefully and include any written supplementary evidence you wish to be considered. 5. When completed the written submission should be returned to Democratic Services, Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2DH or email: committee.services@liverpool.gov.uk What happens next? 1. Once your written submission has been received, it will be acknowledged within 10 working days. If you do not receive this acknowledgement, please telephone the Democratic Services on 0151 233 0411 to check that we have received your written submission. 2. Democratic Services are responsible for organising panel members and for sending you a letter giving the date, time and place of the appeal hearing. 3. You will receive at least 10 school days written notice of the date, time and place of the appeal hearing in order for you to prepare your case. This is a legal requirement. 4. When you receive the letter giving you details of the date, time and place of the appeal, you will also receive a statement from the Local Authority, which will give the reasons why your child was not awarded travel support, and a copy of your Stage One Appeal Form and the Travel Support Review Panel decision letter. 4
Who attends the Appeal Panel? 1. The Independent Appeal Panel (the decision making body) will be comprised of elected members. 2. Advising the Appeal Panel is a clerk who ensures that the correct procedures are followed and that the appeal hearings are conducted fairly. The clerk plays no part in the decision making process other than to provide advice on the process. 3. Also in attendance is an officer from the Home to School Travel Support Review Panel who will explain to you and the Appeal Panel why your application was refused following the Review Panel. Other than to present the case for the Local Authority, the officer plays no part in the stage two decision making process. 4. At the appeal hearing you can be accompanied by a friend or another representative, interpreter or signer, who may speak on your behalf at the hearing. If you require an interpreter or a signer, Democratic Services will make the necessary arrangements and provide the service free of charge. If you require a signer or an interpreter please contact Democratic Services on 0151 233 0411. 5. There may be occasion when there is an observer present who is training to be a clerk, an officer or a member of an Appeal Panel. They will play no part at all and are simply there to observe the process. Will I have to attend the hearing? 1. The Appeal Panel will hear each case individually and you are encouraged to attend the hearing in person. This will enable you to give a detailed explanation of your case, and give members of the Appeal Panel the opportunity to ask you questions. Although it is a formal process the hearing is conducted as informally as possible. 2. If you do not wish to attend, the Appeal Panel will make a decision on the basis of: The written evidence you have provided; A written and/or verbal statement given by the Local Authority about the reasons why your child was not awarded travel support. 3. If you do not indicate whether you will be attending the hearing, the Appeal Panel will decide to hear your appeal in your absence, provided you have had 10 school days notice of the meeting. If you cannot attend you may ask for the hearing to be heard at a later date, although this cannot be guaranteed, it will depend on the circumstances. 5
How do I prepare my case? 1. You are responsible for presenting your case and for deciding what written and/or verbal information you want to put before the Appeal Panel. 2. The Appeal Panel will listen to the individual circumstances of your case. This may be anything that is important to you, your family or your child. There are no restrictions on what you can say. Each family has its own reasons and personal circumstances for appealing. It is important that you inform the Appeal Panel of all the circumstances that you feel are important. 3. You may bring a friend or another representative to support you or to present the case for you. It would be helpful if you could advise Democratic Services who will be representing you. 4. The Stage One appeal form and Stage Two written submission are an important part of your case and should be completed carefully. It will help the appeal panel if you include in the written submission every detail, which you feel is relevant to your appeal and provide supplementary evidence to support your appeal. The Appeal Panel will expect the supplementary evidence to support statements made by parents at the appeal. Examples of the supplementary evidence may include: a letter or report from your family doctor or hospital to support your case. You should ask the doctor to say why, in his/her opinion, your child s medical condition means they require travel support or are unable to attend their nearest suitable school. a letter from a Headteacher or Teacher, a Pupil Attendance and Welfare Officer, a Doctor, a Police Officer etc. to support evidence of bullying legal documents where custody arrangements are in place or legal agreements that have been made 5. Any additional supporting evidence not provided during the stage one process may be submitted with the written submission, in which case it should be listed on the submission. It will not be possible for the Appeal Panel to be reconvened at a later date to hear additional evidence that you may not have disclosed at the original hearing. 6. You can bring evidence to the appeal hearing if it is not possible to send it beforehand but this may delay proceedings, as all parties will need to read the information. 7. Before the appeal hearing, you will have received a copy of the Travel Support Review Panel s decision which details the: the nature of the decision reached; how the review was conducted information about other departments and/or agencies that were consulted as part of the process; what factors were considered; the rationale for the decision reached; 8. You will also receive any other documents, which are considered relevant by the Local Authority. 9. Before the hearing the Appeal Panel will have received and read through all the documents which you and the Local Authority have sent. 10. If you have any queries about the arrangements for the appeal hearing please contact Democratic Services. Please email committee.services@liverpool.gov.uk 11. It may help if you write out the specific points you want to tell the Appeal Panel. It is very rare to be given a second appeal so you must tell the Appeal Panel all the points you want them to consider. 6
What happens at the appeal? 1. Your appeal will be heard in private and the proceedings are confidential. The process usually allows 20 minutes per appeal. 2. The appeal hearing follows a set procedure. You may feel the meeting is very structured, as the Chair will be strict on who can speak and when questions can be asked. However, the Chair will always conduct the meeting in a friendly way and guide you through the whole meeting. 3. The Chair will conduct the meeting in the following way: the Chair introduces the members of the Appeal Panel and everyone else in the room; the clerk then explains the procedure and what will happen next; the Officer from the Travel Support Review Panel explains the reasons for their decision; you and the Panel members may ask questions of the Officer; you (or your representative) will be asked to present your case; the Officer and the Panel members may ask questions of you; both parties will be invited to sum up their cases; the Chair will conclude the hearing by asking you if you feel that you have had an opportunity to say everything that you wanted to say. 4. Both parties leave the room together. 5. The clerk remains with the panel but has no involvement in the decision making process. He/ she will be there purely to assist the Appeal Panel on matters of evidence or procedure and to record the decision. 6. After the decision has been made, the clerk will write to you within 5 working days. You will not be told the decision at the hearing. How does the Appeal Panel reach a decision? The Appeal Panel will decide whether you have made out a case on one of the following grounds: i) Your child would have been offered travel support if the published Home to School Transport Policy had been properly applied; or ii) Whilst the published Home to School Transport Policy has been properly applied, your / your child s personal and/or domestic circumstances are such that travel support should be offered on a discretionary basis (the precise details of which will be decided by the Appeal Panel). If your appeal is allowed by the Appeal Panel, it will grant your child appropriate travel support. If neither of the above grounds is applicable, your appeal will be refused and travel support will not be offered. 7
How will I find out the result of my appeal? The clerk to the Appeal Panel will write you to inform you of the Panel s decision within 5 working days of the hearing of your appeal. You will normally be told at the hearing when the decision letter will be sent to you. Decisions will only be given in writing and you are requested not to contact Democratic Services by telephone for a decision. The Appeal Panel s written decision will set out: the nature of the decision reached; how the appeal was conducted; where relevant, information about other departments and/or agencies that were consulted as part of the process; what factors were considered; the rationale for the decision reached. Is the appeal decision final? The decision of the Appeal Panel is final and binding upon you and the Local Authority. Appellants have the right of complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, but only if complainants consider that there was a failure to comply with the procedural rules or if there are any other irregularities in the way the appeal has been handled. The Local Government Ombudsman PO Box 4771 Coventry CV4 0EH If my appeal is unsuccessful can I appeal again? A second appeal will not be considered for travel support to the same school unless there has been a significant change in your circumstances, for example a change of address or school. You will not be granted a second appeal because you forgot to present relevant evidence or because you wanted to stress different parts of your case, or because you feel the Appeal Panel did not understand your case. CONTACT POINTS Stage one: Review by the Travel Support Review Panel Please complete the online Appeal form or write to Administration Support, PO Box No. 2013, Liverpool L69 2DY For SEN Travel Support please contact The SEN Home to School Transport Team on 233 6511 and 233 6513 or email: SEN.Transport@liverpool.gov.uk Stage two: Review by the Travel Support Appeal Panel Please write to Democratic Services, Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2DH or email committee.services@liverpool.gov.uk If you have not received acknowledgement of your written submission please contact Democratic Services on 0151 233 0411. Retain this guidance for your information. 8