The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council revoked his parking permits or how it considered his individual circumstances. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to revoke his parking permits. Mr X raised concerns that the Council failed to consider its discretion when considering his circumstances and questioned whether it was applying its policy consistently.
Mr X said the matter caused him frustration and distress.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate this complaint. The Council considered Mr X’s circumstances but found he was not eligible for parking permits. As part of its complaints correspondence the Council considered Mr X’s additional comments but decided he still did not meet the criteria in line with its policy.
The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman