Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse Miss X’s application for a Blue Badge for her son. There is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council’s part to warrant our intervention.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council made a flawed decision to refuse 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.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X says her son has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and that this causes him significant difficulties when travelling. She applied unsuccessfully for a Blue Badge for him to assist with his travel, and complains about the Council’s decision to refuse the application.
6. Miss X believes the decision to refuse her application and her subsequent appeal were flawed because of a failure on the Council’s part to understand ADHD and its impact on her son’s ability to travel. She says the Council should review her application and the information she has provided in support of it.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. It is not for us to express a view on whether Miss X’s son should be awarded a Blue Badge. That is a matter for the Council. The question for us is whether there is evidence of fault in the way the Council considered the matter. There is no such evidence.
8. The Council’s final decision indicates that Miss X was offered the opportunity to appeal against the initial decision. The appeals officer’s decision letter indicates that she took account of how Miss X’s son’s condition impacts his ability to travel, and sets out why she does not believe a Blue Badge is appropriate. Miss X disagrees with the officer’s decision, but that does not mean it amounts to fault. There is no evidence that the officer failed to take account of relevant information, or made a decision which is not defensible in the circumstances of the case. Without such evidence, the Ombudsman cannot intervene to criticise the decision, or to substitute an alternative view.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council’s part.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman