Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s decision not to issue her a blue badge. The Ombudsman finds the Council was not at fault.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s decision not to issue her a blue badge. She said it did not consider the psychological distress she experienced when walking, or the difficulties she experienced with balance. Ms X said she now has additional medical needs the Council did not consider as part of her assessment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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 read Ms X’s complaint.
5. I considered all documentations in relation to Ms X’s application including the application form and the Council’s mobility assessment.
6. Ms X and the Council both had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making my final 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. In 2014 the Department for Transport issued guidance (‘the guidance’) to councils for providing blue badges to disabled people with severe mobility problems. That guidance was updated in 2019. The guidance is non-statutory which means that councils are not legally obliged to adopt it. In practice, however, most councils do follow it. The guidance says councils must only issue badges to people who satisfy one or more of the criteria set out in legislation.
9. A person is eligible without further assessment if they receive:
• the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance; or
• eight points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment; or
• ten points specifically for Descriptor E under the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity, on the grounds that they cannot undertake any journey because it could cause them overwhelming psychological distress.
10. People eligible after assessment includes those who have been certified by an expert assessor as having an enduring and substantial disability which causes them, during the course of a journey to:
• Be unable to walk;
• Experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very consideration psychological distress; or
• Be at risk of serious harm when walking; or pose when walking, a risk of serious harm to another person.
11. The Council decides most blue badge applications based on the application form and supporting evidence. If a person needs a mobility assessment, that is completed by a qualified occupational therapist. An applicant has the right to appeal if their application is unsuccessful. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the applicant cannot reapply for a blue badge for six months.
12. When reaching the decision on eligibility, “The decision maker will consider each aspect of the walking difficulty first in isolation and then in combination, to reach a holistic decision as to whether the combine to mean the applicant has an enduring and substantial disability which causes them to experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking during the course of a journey”.

What happened

13. Ms X applied to the Council in June 2019 for a blue badge. In her application she said she had post-traumatic stress disorder; poor balance; dizziness; struggled in busy places and experienced pain both during and after walking. She did not meet the criteria to be eligible for a blue badge without assessment.
14. The Council wrote to Ms X the following month. It said her application was not successful because the information on the application form did not indicate her condition affected her mobility to the extent she could not walk or had considerable difficulty walking. It explained how Ms X could appeal.
15. Ms X appealed. She told the Council she suffered stress and anxiety and that made it difficult for her to access public services such as shops. The Council decided to complete a further assessment including a mobility assessment.
16. Ms X had the further assessment in November 2019. The records show the assessor discussed Ms X’s mental health with her; additional health concerns and the medication she took for pain relief. Ms X completed a mobility assessment that included use of the stairs and walking 100 metres. The assessment records Ms X walked at a ‘very slow pace’ of 23 metres per minute and showed moderate pain when walking.
17. The Council did not assess Ms X as eligible for a blue badge. In its decision letter it said “the assessor considers that you do not have very considerable difficulty whilst walking”. It said Ms X did have some difficulty travelling and accessing services. Ms X was unhappy with the Council’s decision and complained to the Ombudsman.

My findings

18. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.
19. The Council’s assessment shows the assessor considered Ms X’s physical and mental health concerns when assessing whether she needed a blue badge. It considered the speed that she walked at and the level of pain experienced. The assessor did not consider Ms X experienced very considerable psychological distress when walking. The Council used all available information when making its decision. The Council was not at fault.
20. Ms X said that since the Council’s decision, she received a diagnosis about the health of her spine that was not considered as part of the assessment. The assessor can only consider the information available at the time of the assessment. Therefore, the Council was not at fault for not considering that information. If Ms X has new evidence, she can reapply for a blue badge six months after the appeal outcome.

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Final decision

21. There was no fault in how the Council considered Ms X’s blue badge request. Therefore, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman