City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (20 009 695)
Category : Adult care services > Transport
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Feb 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to issue the complainant with a Blue Badge. This is because the Council has recently awarded a badge to the complainant.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complained the Council had not issued him with a Blue Badge.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 an investigation if the problem has been resolved. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read the complaint and information from the Council explaining it has just awarded a Blue Badge to Mr X. I confirmed this with Mr X and invited him to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
Blue badge
- People who receive descriptor E of a benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PIP) qualify for a badge without further assessment. The descriptor is awarded if the person cannot undertake a journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress.
What happened
- Mr X applied for a badge in 2019. The Council rejected the application because he had not shown he received the correct PIP descriptor.
- Mr X reapplied for the badge in 2020 and provided proof that he has been awarded PIP descriptor E. The Council has asked Mr X for a photograph so it can issue the badge.
Assessment
- I will not start an investigation because the Council has accepted the application and is in the process of issuing Mr X with a Blue Badge.
Final decision
- I will not start an investigation because the Council has awarded a Blue Badge to Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman