Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to award a Blue Badge. This is because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss X, complains that the Council was at fault in refusing her application and appeal for a Blue Badge for her son.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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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. Miss X applied for a Blue Badge for her son, under the Department for Transport’s Blue Badge Scheme. The Scheme helps people with severe physical mobility problems, or other conditions affecting their mobility, to access goods and services. It does this by allowing them, or their carer, to park near their destination. The scheme gives parking concessions to Blue Badge holders. Councils are responsible for assessing applicants’ eligibility for the badge.
6. Since August 2019 the guidance has included the introduction of assessment criteria for people with severe mobility problems caused by non-visible disabilities. Miss X’s application was on the grounds that her son has a non-visible disability, and that this places him at more risk than a neurotypical child of his age.
7. Miss X’s application was subject to a desktop assessment. The assessor took the view that the eligibility criteria were not met and refused the application. Miss X used her right to appeal against the decision and provided evidence to support her appeal.
8. The appeal decision was made after a face-to-face assessment with an occupational therapist. Again, the Council took the view that Miss X’s son was not eligible for a Blue Badge. Miss X believes the Council has failed to properly consider the evidence and that the decision to refuse her application amounts to disability discrimination.
9. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. Whether her son should be awarded a Blue Badge is not a matter on which we can express a view. That is for the Council to decide, having regard to the Department for Transport’s guidance. The question for us is whether there is evidence of fault in the way the decision was made.
10. Miss X disagrees with the decision the Council made. But that does not mean it was flawed. There is no demonstrable evidence of fault in the way the matter was assessed and decided. That being the case, the decision was for the professional judgement of the officers concerned. The Ombudsman cannot criticise the decision or intervene to substitute an alternative view.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman