Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to issue him a private hire taxi driver’s licence. The complaint is late and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants. Mr X could also have appealed the Council’s decision at the magistrates’ court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains he paid to attend a Council-run course to qualify as a private hire taxi driver but the Council has failed to issue him a licence.

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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)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and invited his comments.

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What I found

6. Mr X applied to the Council for a private hire taxi driver’s licence in 2016. He paid the Council’s fee and attended an induction course in March 2017. The Council did not issue him a licence on the day but told him it would contact him when his licence was ready to collect. It later told him it had given him the appointment by mistake and would not issue him a licence. He complained in 2017 and the Council offered to refund his fee, but Mr X did not accept. He contacted the Council again in 2019 and the Council confirmed its offer still stands. Mr X wants the Council to issue him a licence.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The actions Mr X complains about date to some two years before he referred the matter to the Ombudsman. It is therefore late. While the Ombudsman has discretion to investigate late complaints I have seen no good reasons to exercise our discretion in this case. Mr X knew about the Council’s actions at the time and the Council has offered to refund the fee he paid.
8. We are not an appeal body and cannot force the Council to issue Mr X a licence. The Council’s decision not to carried a right of appeal to the magistrates’ court under Section 52 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and if Mr X disputed its decision it would have been reasonable for him to appeal at the time.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants and Mr X had a right of appeal that it would have been reasonable for him to use.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman