The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on a disabled parking bay application. This is because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decision-making process and there is not a significant personal injustice.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council has unfairly denied her a disabled parking bay.
She says the lack of parking is affecting her health.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I appreciate Ms X would like a disabled parking bay near her home. However, we will not investigate her complaint. The Council considered her request and the evidence available and determined that it is not possible to provide an on-street parking bay due to the location. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decision-making process.
We will not investigate Ms X’s request for a parking space to be allocated directly to her either. The Council actions in denying her a personal parking space has not caused her a significant personal injustice which warrants further investigation.
I appreciate Ms X feels the Council has not considered her rights under the Equality Act. We can only consider the decision-making process, and I am satisfied the Council did consider the matter. Any concerns about whether the actions amount to discrimination are issues for a court to decide.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is no fault in the Council’s decision making or significant personal injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman