Summary: Mrs X complained the Council wrongly refused to renew her blue badge. We find it failed to carry out an independent face-to-face mobility assessment as required by guidance and its policy. It has agreed to carry out an assessment and, as a result of another Ombudsman investigation, it is reviewing its approach and considering whether others are affected by this fault. It will also pay Mrs X £250 to remedy her time and trouble making this complaint. These are appropriate actions to remedy the injustice to Mrs X and prevent reoccurrence.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has wrongly refused to renew her blue badge. The Council did not carry out an independent face to face mobility assessment. Its decision to refuse to renew her badge has seriously reduced Mrs X’s independence and wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I spoke to Mrs X about her complaint.
5. I considered Government guidance on Blue Badges.
6. I gave the Council and Mrs X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

7. The Blue Badge scheme is to help disabled people with severe mobility problems access goods and services by allowing them to park near their destination. The scheme provides parking concessions for blue badge holders. Councils are responsible for the day-to-day administration and enforcement of the scheme. This includes assessing whether people are eligible for a badge.
8. The Department for Transport (DfT) has issued guidance (“the guidance”) to councils for providing blue badges to disabled people with severe mobility problems. The guidance is non-statutory meaning that councils are not legally obliged to adopt it. In practice, however, most councils do follow it.
9. The guidance says councils must only issue badges to people who satisfy one or more of the criteria set out in legislation.
10. A person is eligible subject to further assessment if they:
• drive a vehicle regularly, have a severe disability in both arms and cannot operate, or have considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking metres; or
• have a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.
11. The guidance says that, where an applicant is eligible subject to further assessment, an independent mobility assessor should undertake a face to face assessment of their mobility. The person completing the assessment should have a professional qualification giving them expertise in assessing walking ability. Councils typically employ Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists to undertake the assessments. The assessor must be independent of the applicant and their treatment and care.
12. The guidance says, “while desk-based assessments have a role as a filtering mechanism to identify applicants who are clearly eligible or clearly ineligible for a badge, they cannot be successfully used as the sole means of determining all applicants’ eligibility for a badge.”
13. It also states, “it is good practice for local authorities to provide scope for an applicant to be referred for an independent mobility assessment if they are unable to make a clear and robust decision on eligibility using crosschecking or desk-assessment”.
14. The guidance says applicants who can walk more than 80 metres and do not demonstrate very considerable difficulty in walking through any other factors would not be deemed eligible for a badge.
15. Having a certain medical condition does not, in itself, qualify an applicant for a badge. Rather, it is the effect of the condition or disability on the applicant’s ability to walk that is assessed.
16. The guidance sets out several factors that are relevant in deciding whether an applicant meets the criteria for a blue badge. These include: speed of walking; distance walked; excessive pain; and breathlessness.
17. The guidance recommends a council should have a review mechanism, which preferably does not involve someone directly involved in the original decision. The council has an appeal process for applicants who are unhappy with its decision.

The Council’s policy

18. The Council’s policy states, “Applicants who have been refused a badge on the basis of the application form alone and who subsequently appeal will be referred to a Physiotherapist for further assessment”.

What happened

19. Mrs X has health conditions affecting her mobility. Because of this she has had a blue badge from the Council for several years.
20. In October 2018 she applied to the Council to renew her blue badge. The Council refused her application saying, on the basis of information provided, she did not qualify. She appealed its decision and provided evidence from a consultant.
21. In December 2018 the Council stopped offering people the option of an independent mobility assessment as part of its blue badge scheme.
22. Mrs X provided the Council with information from a different consultant. The Council decided Mrs X did not meet the requirements for renewal. It wrote to her in May 2019, and referred her to the Ombudsman.

My findings

23. The Council did two desk-based assessments of Mrs X’s application.
24. To comply with Government guidance and its own policy the Council should have offered Mrs X a face-to-face assessment with a physiotherapist. Failure to do so was fault. The purpose of a face-to-face assessment is to enable a trained independent assessor to observe the applicant walking and assess their ability to walk.
25. As a result of another investigation by the Ombudsman, the Council has agreed to review its approach to ensure it complies with current guidance and its own policy. It has also agreed to review its approach to other applicants that may have been affected by this fault.
26. It has contacted Mrs X, apologised verbally and arranged a face-to-face assessment for her with a physiotherapist. We welcome its acknowledgement of fault at an early stage of this investigation and the steps it is taking to remedy the injustice caused. It has agreed to apologise in writing and pay a token remedy for time and trouble caused to Mrs X by its fault.

Agreed action

27. Within one month of my final decision the Council will:
• apologise to Mrs X for the failure to offer her a face-to-face assessment and
• pay her £250 for her time and trouble.
28. The Council has already arranged a face-to-face assessment by a physiotherapist for Mrs X.

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Final decision

29. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault causing injustice and the Council has agreed action to remedy this.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman