Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to issue her with a Blue Badge. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse her Blue Badge application. She said the assessment was rushed and the assessment report did not reflect the answers she gave during the assessment or the impact of her condition on her day to day life. She wants the Council to issue her with a Blue Badge.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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))

3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Department of Transport has issued guidance to Councils setting out eligibility criteria for a Blue Badge. The criteria includes that an applicant must have an enduring and substantial disability which means they have, during the course of a journey, very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress.
7. The guidance highlights some of the factors a council should consider when deciding whether someone has very considerable difficulty whilst walking, including:
• The level of pain experienced when the individual is walking or a consequence of walking. Consideration should be given to the applicant’s reported experience of pain alongside information they provide regarding any medication or coping strategies adopted to manage their pain.
• The degree of breathlessness when walking, or a result of walking.
• Distance, speed, and length of time an individual can walk for.
• The way the individual walks and their use of walking aids.
8. Applicants need to show that they cannot walk very far without experiencing severe difficulty and that their inability to walk is affected to the extent they would be unable to access goods and services unless allowed to park close to shops, public buildings, and other facilities. Applicants who can walk more than 80 metres, and do not demonstrate very considerable difficulty in walking through other factors, would not be eligible.
9. Ms X applied to the Council for a Blue Badge and submitted documents to support her application. The Council assessed her application but decided she did not meet the eligibility criteria.
10. Ms X appealed the decision. The Council invited Ms X for a face to face assessment. During this assessment the assessor considered all the relevant factors set out in the Blue Badge guidance. They observed Ms X walking unaided for 85 metres at a moderate pace and observed signs of moderate pain.
11. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. That means we will not take another look at a decision and come to our own conclusions. Instead, we look at the process the Council followed when it made its decision. If we consider it followed these processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
12. We will not investigate this complaint. Although Ms X disagrees with the decision, the Council has followed the process we would expect and assessed her application in line with the Department of Transport Blue Badge guidance. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how it considered Ms X’s application to warrant our involvement.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman