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Environmental health Maladministration causing injustice
20 February 2008
The Ombudsman issued a report on two similar, but unconnected, complaints about destruction of vehicles. In the first case, the complainant had received the car as a Christmas present from her parents, and it was parked outside her home when it was deemed to be abandoned and removed by the Council. Guidance issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs states: a vehicle should not be considered abandoned solely on the grounds that it is not displaying a valid tax disc. Local authorities should use the DVLA’s free on-line link to check keepership details and vehicle taxation status prior to taking action. This is available 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year. The Council established that the car was not taxed and that the registered keeper lived next to where it was parked. But the Council failed to contact the keeper before removing and destroying the car, a failure that the Ombudsman described as ”utterly incomprehensible”. In the second case the car was parked in a garage that was rented by the complainant from the Council. The Ombudsman was less critical of the decision to destroy the car because it had been removed from the garage and vandalised and it may have posed a risk to public safety if it had been left in the open. However, the Ombudsman was critical of the incorrect description of the condition of the vehicle as having been “burned out” and of the failure to provide photographic evidence of its condition.
In commenting on both cases the Ombudsman said: “The disrespect shown to the complainants and their property was little short of astonishing, and the Council’s review must restore a proper balance between the rights of private owners on the one hand and the rights of the community to ensure its reasonable safety and amenity are protected.”
The Ombudsman was pleased to note that the Council had already commenced a review of its procedures. He also recommended that it should:
Date Updated: 13/01/09
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