The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is issuing parking penalty charge notices unfairly as any motorist impacted by this has the right to appeal to an independent tribunal.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council is condoning the issuing of illegal/unfair penalty charge notices (PCNs) for parking contraventions. Mr X wants the Council to ensure PCNs are issued with integrity or he says people will lose faith in its governance.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X was issued with a PCN but says he does not complain about that per se but about the Council’s practices.
The law under which PCNs are issued provides an appeal process, ultimately to adjudicators at independent tribunals. This is the appropriate way for motorists issued with PCNs to challenge them. We are not another level of appeal and cannot make the decisions of the parking adjudicators. It is reasonable to expect any challenge in respect of fairness/legality to be made through this process and as such we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the issues he raise are best dealt with by parking adjudicators on appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman