London Borough of Havering (20 005 015)

Category : Adult care services > Transport

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 07 May 2021

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr X complained about the way the Council dealt with his renewal of a Taxicard. The Council accepted some fault for which it apologised and reconsidered his application. We agreed with this outcome but recommended a time and trouble payment should be made to remedy the injustice to Mr X. The Council agreed to this recommendation.

The complaint

  1. Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to renew his Taxicard and its complaint handling. In particular, he complained that:
      1. the same officer dealt with his application for a renewal as responded to his stage one complaint.
      2. the Council ignored his complaint initially.
  2. Mr X says he has been unfairly denied a Taxicard, to which he was previously entitled. The loss of this service, together with the way the Council has handled his complaint about it, has caused considerable distress and prevented him from making essential journeys for longer than necessary.

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What I have investigated

  1. I have investigated events from November 2019 to May 2020. Mr X submitted a further complaint to the Council about what happened afterwards, but this has not been referred to the Ombudsman.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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)
  2. 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

  1. As part of my investigation I have:
  • considered the complaint and documents provided by Mr X;
  • made enquiries of the Council and considered its response;
  • considered the Taxicard eligibility criteria and guidance for applicants;
  • spoken to Mr X; and
  • sent my draft decision to both parties and invited comments on it. Comments received have been taken into consideration.

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What I found

Taxicard

  1. A Taxicard provides reduced fares in London taxis and is available to London residents suffering from a disability or condition which prevents or limits their use of public transport.
  2. Some people are eligible for a Taxicard without further assessment. This includes those receiving the higher rate of the mobility part of the Disability Living Allowance or those who have eight points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
  3. If an applicant is not automatically eligible, they are assessed by their local council and must provide medical evidence in support.

What happened

  1. In November 2018, Mr X successfully applied for a Taxicard, valid for 12 months. Mr X has several medical conditions that make it difficult for him to use public transport. When it expired in November 2019, he was granted a short extension until January 2020 to allow for a review of his circumstances.
  2. In December 2019, Mr X complained to the Council, but it was not logged as an official complaint. This letter expressed dissatisfaction with Council staff and included copies of medical letters from 2017 and 2018.
  3. Because Mr X did not provide recent medical information, his Taxicard was not renewed.
  4. In February 2020, frustrated by the Council’s failure to respond to his earlier complaint he complained again.
  5. In March 2020, the Council considered the matter under stage one of its complaints procedure. The letter was written by an OT manager. She reviewed his application and confirmed the previous decision that Mr X did not meet the criteria for a Taxicard. She explained the Taxicard issued in 2018 was for 12 months during which time Mr X had therapy to manage his travel related anxieties.
  6. His complaint was not upheld. Mr X asked for it be escalated to stage two. He also submitted a letter from his doctor that provided information about his medical conditions.
  7. The Council sent its stage two response in May 2020. The Council acknowledged there had been a slight delay caused by the response to Covid-19. It upheld three areas of complaint:
      1. Mr X’s letter from December 2019 to the Council should have been dealt with as a complaint.
      2. The Council agreed that it should not have been the same officer dealing with the renewal application and the stage one complaint, as specifically requested by Mr X.
      3. The Council accepted Mr X should have been advised in November 2019 that he needed to submit recent medical information to support his application. The Council explained it was not normal practice for cards to be issued on a temporary basis and so there was no set policy to deal with renewals.
  8. The Council said it would consider the medical information submitted by Mr X in March. It also apologised to Mr X.
  9. This led to an assessment by an occupational therapist in May 2020. What happened since has been the subject of a second complaint to the Council by Mr X. In response to my enquiries, the Council says Mr X has now been offered a Taxicard and a goodwill payment of £250 as an outcome of his second complaint.

Analysis

  1. Taxicard decisions involve a significant degree of professional judgement and it is not the Ombudsman’s role to decide whether Mr X qualifies. As paragraph four explained, I would only criticise such a decision if the assessor did not make it properly. Therefore, I have considered the decision-making process.
  2. The Council’s own complaint investigation identified there was fault with the process. It acknowledged it should have made it clear when his Taxicard was first issued in 2018 that it was time limited for a specific reason. He should then have been told in November 2019 that he needed to submit fresh medical information to support his renewal. It also acknowledged there had been some relatively minor fault with its complaint handling.
  3. I have identified no further fault. The Council’s own stage two investigation was carried out by an officer independent of the service area. The Council’s records confirm it was thorough and came to the correct conclusion.

Injustice and remedy

  1. I must then go onto consider whether the Council did enough to remedy the injustice caused to Mr X. The Council apologised and arranged for an OT assessment. Had he received the correct information about his renewal, it is reasonable to assume that some of the subsequent delay and time and trouble Mr X spent dealing with the matter could have been avoided. I do not consider the Council’s remedy was sufficient. In line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies, I recommend a modest payment should be made to Mr X to acknowledge this injustice.

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Agreed action

  1. Within four weeks from the date of my final decision, the Council has agreed to pay Mr X £100.

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Final decision

The Council was at fault in its handling of Mr X’s Taxicard application. The Council has agreed a suitable remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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