Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s rejection of Mr X’s application for a Freedom Pass. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has declined to issue a Freedom Pass for him although he feels he meets its criteria to be eligible for it.
2. He is seeking a reversal of the Council’s decision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate 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 continue 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))
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and the Council’s website.

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My assessment

7. Mr X applied for a Freedom Pass without providing evidence and the Council rejected this application.
8. Mr X instated a representative, who appealed the Council’s decision and provided some evidence in support.
9. The Council rejected the appeal and explained its reasoning with direct reference to the criteria it does not feel Mr X’s application and appeal meet.
10. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision making to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman