Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint that the Council is not applying its vehicle licensing policy consistently or fairly. The Council has taken action which is a satisfactory way to address the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr B, says the Council’s licensing policy is not being applied fairly. His application for a private hire vehicle license was refused because the vehicle did not meet the rear seat size criteria, yet Mr B says other vehicles which do not meet the criteria have been given licenses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered:
• Mr B’s complaint to the Ombudsman;
• The complaint correspondence between Mr B and the Council;
• The Council’s ‘Guidelines on the assessment of vehicles to be licensed as hackney carriages or private hire vehicles’ and its ‘Conditions of license’;
• Mr B’s comments on a draft version of this statement; and,
• A copy of the checklist completed during the visual inspection of the other vehicle that Mr B complained about.

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What I found

Summary of what happened

4. Mr B says he purchased a new car to be used as a private hire vehicle. But his vehicle license application was refused because the car did not meet the Council’s criteria for the size of the rear seat.
5. Mr B then spotted a smaller car that had been licensed by the Council as a private hire vehicle. Mr B complained to the Council as he felt the Council was being inconsistent in the application of the size criteria.
6. The Council accepted a human error had been made during the visual inspection and measuring of this smaller car. It said the matter would be investigated and legal advice would be obtained on the next steps available.
7. The Council decided to raise the matter with the License Board, where the license renewal was refused.

Assessment

8. In my view, the Council has taken reasonable action to address Mr B’s complaint about the license issued to the smaller vehicle. Therefore, and with reference to paragraph 2 above, I do not consider the Ombudsman should investigate Mr B’s complaint.
9. If Mr B identifies other vehicles that he thinks should not have been given a license then it is open to him to report these to the Council.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. This is because I am satisfied with the action the Council has taken in response to his complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman