The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice as Mr X appealed against it to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The complaint is now no longer within our remit. Mr X’s complaint that the Council will not confirm whether it owns the land where he was parked is a matter for the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The complaint
Mr X complains he was wrongly issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN) for a parking contravention. Mr X says the Council had no jurisdiction to issue the PCN as he says it does not own the land on which he parked. Mr X complains the Council will not tell him if it owns the land. Mr X wants the Council to do this and to refund him the money he paid to clear the PCN.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about freedom of information. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X appealed against the PCN to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) but lost. As per paragraph two, we now have no remit to investigate the PCN and cannot do so.
Mr X has asked the Council to confirm if it owns the land but says the Council has not answered this question. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority on information rights and is best placed to deal with Mr X’s concerns in this regard.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a PCN because it is no longer within our remit since he appealed against it to the TPT. Mr X’s complaint that the Council will not provide him with information he has requested is best dealt with by the ICO.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman