Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint about the Council’s delay in considering her appeal for a blue badge. This is because the Council has now considered Ms B’s appeal and decided she should be awarded a blue badge. We could not achieve any more than this.

The complaint

1. Ms B complained the Council had delayed in considering her appeal for a blue badge. Ms B says she found the on-line form time restricting and could not put all the things she wanted to say in it. In addition, Ms B says she was told the appeal would take 5 days.

Back to top

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’. 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:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Ms B and the Council provided. I sent Ms B a copy of my draft decision for comment.

Back to top

What I found

4. Ms B applied for a blue badge in September using the on-line form. Ms B did not qualify for a blue badge under the ‘automatically eligible’ criteria. The Council arranged for a telephone assessment to be carried out in October and Ms B was advised in November she did not meet the eligibility criteria for a blue badge. Ms B appealed the decision on 13 November and received an acknowledgment from the Council on 19 November advising it may take up to 12 weeks to consider her appeal.
5. Ms B asked the Council for a copy of the assessment report which it sent her in January 2010. Ms B emailed the Council outlining her disagreement with some of the aspects of the assessment. The Council considered Ms B’s information alongside all the other documentation and decided in February 2020 she met the criteria for a blue badge. The letter sent to Ms B explained she will need to resend the administration fee of £10 it returned to her following the unsuccessful on-line application, so it can process the badge. The Council says once the administration fee is received, it will send her a blue badge.
6. Ms B is unhappy with the way the Council considered her blue badge application. However, the Council has explained the process, what it considered in the appeal, including the points Ms B’s disputed with the initial assessment report and issued the badge. We could not achieve any more than this even if we investigated.

Back to top

Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has now considered Ms B’s appeal and decided she should be awarded a Blue Badge. We could not achieve any more than this.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman