Buckinghamshire Council (23 006 075)
Category : Adult care services > Transport
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Aug 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to issue him a Blue Badge. This is because Mr X has since submitted a new application which the Council is currently assessing. We cannot intervene in the ongoing assessment or require the Council to issue him a Blue Badge, which is what Mr X wants.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council has refused to issue him with a Blue Badge. He says this reduces his independence at a time when he is unable to use public transport.
- He wants the Council to apologise to him and approve his new Blue Badge application.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council refused Mr X’s application for a Blue Badge. Since then, Mr X has submitted a new application, which the Council is in the process of assessing.
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot intervene in the Council’s assessment of the new application nor can we direct the Council to issue Mr X with a Blue Badge, which is the outcome Mr X is seeking.
- We do not act as an appeal body and can only consider if there is fault in the way a council has reached a decision. As Mr X’s new application is still being assessed we cannot intervene in this process. If the new application is refused and any appeal is also unsuccessful, it is open to Mr X to approach us again, if he believes there may be fault in how the Council reached its decision.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman