Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about her blue badge application. There is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council wrongly refused her application for a blue badge. As a result, she says she struggles to park.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. People qualify for a badge if they are unable to walk, experience considerable difficulty when walking or are at serious risk of harm when walking. Councils can request information from ‘expert assessors’ during the process.
6. Ms X applied for a blue badge and sent in medical records as supporting information. The Council carried out a telephone assessment and wrote to Ms X to say she had been unsuccessful. It said the reason for this related to how far she could walk, the time it took and matters around her breathing. The letter also addressed the other issues Ms X had raised in her application and during the telephone assessment.
7. Ms X was unable to ask for a review because the Council said her assessment points score was too low. Therefore, she complained to us. She said the Council’s decision was incorrect and she had been forced into providing the answers she gave during the telephone assessment.
8. I will not investigate this complaint because it is unlikely I would find fault. We do not act as an appeal body and can only consider if there is fault in the way the Council has made a decision. We have no power to award a badge and it is not my role to decide if Ms X is eligible for a badge.
9. The Council assessed Ms X’s application and the information she provided on the telephone and decided she did not qualify for a blue badge. There is no evidence of fault in how it reached that decision. Ms X says she was coerced into providing the answers she gave but I was not there during the conversation and so cannot say what happened. I appreciate Ms X disagrees and thinks she is entitled to a badge but there is nothing to indicate the Council wrongly assessed the application so there is no reason to start an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault to justify starting an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman