Transport For Greater Manchester (19 001 674)

Category : Adult care services > Transport

Decision : Not upheld

Decision date : 17 Oct 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The actions of the GMCA did not cause injustice to Mrs X who could have had the benefit of the travel pass over a year ago.

The complaint

  1. Mr X (as I shall call the complainant) complains that the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which acts on behalf of the Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA), is acting in defiance of the statutory guidance in restricting the issue of travel passes to applicants who produce more evidence of their statues than the guidance requires.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these.
  2. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered the information provided to me by Mr X and by the TfGM. I spoke to Mr X.
  2. I considered whether this action of TfGM was within the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman. It acts on behalf of the GMCA and its constitution says:

(a)The GMCA is the local transport authority (‘LTA’) and integrated

transport authority (‘ITA’) for the area of Greater Manchester, and has

all the functions of an LTA and ITA.

(b) Without prejudice to the generality of the above, the GMCA is

responsible for the discharge of the functions of an LTA and an ITA that

are conferred or imposed by the Transport Acts 1968, 1983, 1985 and

2000, the Local Government Act 1972, the Transport and Works Act

1992, the Local Transport Act 2008, the Bus Services Act 2017, and the

2009 Act.

  1. As the England National Concessionary Travel Scheme was enshrined in legislation by the Transport Act 2000, and the GMCA is responsible for discharging the functions imposed by that Act, for the purposes of this complaint it is within the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman.
  2. Both Mr X and the TfGM had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement and I took their comments into consideration before I reached a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

  1. There are two broad categories of people eligible for a statutory concession: men and women who have attained the state pension age for women and eligible disabled people (where no age limits apply).
  2. The Department for Transport issued guidance to local authorities on assessing eligibility for travel passes. It says “Eligibility for a concessionary travel pass may be considered "automatic"

(not requiring further assessment) where a person is in receipt of any of

the following state benefits …..

b. Personal Independence Payment (PIP), where the applicant has been

awarded at least eight points against either the PIP "Moving around"

and/or "Communicating verbally" activities… Applicants claiming these benefits will be able to provide documentary evidence of their entitlement. “

  1. The guidance also says, “Eligibility may also be considered automatic where a disabled person of fare paying age has been issued with a disabled persons’ parking badge ("Blue Badge").”
  1. In June 2016 the Department for Transport issued a guidance note to clarify that “for the avoidance of doubt, that the decision as to whether someone is a 'disabled person' for the purposes of concessionary travel is the responsibility of the relevant travel concession authority (TCA)”. It continues: “A decision to consider an applicant automatically eligible for a concessionary travel pass comes at the discretion of the relevant TCA, based on their own consideration of the evidence provided and any legal advice they seek”.

What happened

  1. Mrs X suffers from a degenerative condition. She has sufficient PIP points to render her eligible for the travel pass. Mrs X also has a Blue Badge.
  2. When Mrs X’s previous pass was about to expire, TfGM sent her the renewal documents.
  3. Mrs X returned the application form in May 2018. She applied for the pass on the grounds of her difficulty in walking. She sent a copy of the first page of her PIP award letter (which showed she received an enhanced award).
  4. TfGM wrote to Mrs X explaining that it needed either the whole letter as proof of the elements of the award and her identity, or alternatively medical evidence of her difficulty walking.
  5. Mr X complained to TfGM. He said other TCAs issued travel passes on the basis of a Blue Badge alone.
  6. TfGM responded to Mr X. It said all applicants were required to produce evidence to support their applications and it did not presently accept Blue Badges alone as evidence.
  7. Mr X continued to argue that TfGM was restricting the access to travel passes not only of Mrs X but also of many other thousands of disabled people in the way it operated its policy.
  8. TfGM told Mr X it would accept the front page of the PIP award letter (confirming Mrs X’s identity) and the page which detailed the award itself.
  9. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman. He said the refusal of TfGM to issue a travel pass to Mrs X had excluded her from the community and she had been unable to accompany him on public transport for over a year.
  10. Mr X says Mrs X will not accept a travel pass on principle until TfGM operates a policy of accepting Blue Badges as sufficient evidence.
  11. Mr X’s MP has also written on behalf of Mr X and raised concerns that TfGM is acting in defiance of the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007, which says “A travel concession authority in England other than in London must on an application made to it by any person who appears to the authority to be an elderly or disabled person whose sole or principal residence s in the authority’s area issue to the person free of charge a permit indicating that he is entitled to the concession specified in subsection 1[ie the travel pass]”. She says Mr X is also acting on behalf of the many disabled people in the area with blue badges who have not been granted the concessionary travel pass.

Analysis

  1. The DfT guidance is clear that it is for individual TCAs to award concessionary travel passes “based on their own consideration of the evidence provided”.
  2. Mrs X is able to obtain a travel pass if she produces the relevant parts of her PIP award letter as requested.
  3. It is Mrs X’s choice not to accept a travel pass at the moment. That is her prerogative, but it is not the fault of the GMCA. The actions of the GMCA have not caused her the injustice.
  4. We have investigated the complaint brought by Mr X on Mrs X’s behalf. It is open to someone else who believes the actions of the GMCA have caused them an injustice to complain to the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

  1. Mrs X has not suffered injustice because of the actions of the GMCA.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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