Trafford Council (23 005 466)
Category : Adult care services > Transport
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse a blue badge. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse him a blue badge. He said it did not consider his condition, or the evidence he provided properly. He wants the Council to issue a blude badge.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The decision to issue a blue badge is not dependent on a person’s medical condition but their ability to walk without very considerable difficulty. The Council considered the information Mr X provided in his application form; completed a mobility assessment and considered the comments he made in his appeal application. The Council assessed Mr X as having some difficulty walking, however, it did not assess him as meeting the criteria for a blue badge.
- Although Mr X is unhappy with this decision, we will not investigate this complaint. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision to justify our involvement.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman