Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mrs X’s Blue Badge application because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council considered her application, appeal and complaint to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council wrongly refused her Blue Badge application under the hidden disability criteria. She says she provided evidence from healthcare professionals about the impact of her mental health difficulties on her ability to undertake journeys alone and safely. She says the Council did not properly understand or consider her difficulties. Mrs X also complains about delays and poor communication during the application process.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

3. 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)
4. We will not usually investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34B(8))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Blue Badge Scheme helps people with severe physical mobility problems, or other conditions affecting their mobility, to access goods and services. The guidance says councils must make sure they only issue badges to residents who satisfy one or more of the criteria set out in legislation.
8. Mrs X applied under the hidden disability criteria. The Council considered the information provided with her application and supporting evidence from healthcare professionals. The initial assessor concluded there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that Mrs X experienced the level of psychological distress required under the Blue Badge criteria and requested further evidence.
9. Mrs X provided additional evidence from healthcare professionals. The Council reviewed the additional evidence and reassessed the application. It decided the evidence did not demonstrate that the eligibility criteria were met and refused the application.
10. Mrs X appealed the decision and provided further information. There was some confusion about the submission of appeal documents and the appeal period expired. However, the Council agreed to reopen the application and consider the appeal. It reviewed the additional evidence and Mrs X’s personal statement before deciding there was insufficient evidence to change the original decision.
11. Following a complaint, the Council reviewed the application and the supporting medical evidence again. The Council accepted Mrs X experiences anxiety and distress. However, it concluded the evidence did not demonstrate the level of functional impairment or overwhelming psychological distress required under the hidden disability criteria.
12. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at the Council’s decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at whether there was fault in how the Council made its decision. The evidence shows the Council considered Mrs X’s application, requested further evidence, considered her appeal, and reviewed the matter again through the complaints process. We have not seen sufficient evidence that the Council ignored relevant information or failed to follow its assessment and appeal process when deciding whether she met the Blue Badge criteria.
13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.
14. The Council accepted there had been administrative and communication issues during the application process. It partly upheld Mrs X’s complaint about delays and upheld her complaint about communication. The Council said it had provided additional guidance to staff and implemented process improvements. However, we will not investigate this aspect of the complaint because the injustice arising from complaint handling alone is not significant enough to warrant a separate investigation.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman