Thanet District Council (19 006 836)
Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Sep 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to renew his private hire vehicle licence. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to appeal.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s refusal to renew his private hire vehicle licence. He says this means he cannot work and is in debt.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s responses. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.
What I found
- The Council granted Mr X a private hire vehicle licence in February 2019. Mr X applied to renew the licence in June 2019 but the Council refused his application. It explained the original licence had been issued in error and explained Mr X could appeal against the decision to the magistrates’ court. Mr X is not happy with the Council’s decision and says it has been negligent.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The Council issued the original licence in error as the vehicle does not meet its criteria. But this does not mean it must renew the licence now that it has realised its mistake. Mr X has had several months use of the vehicle which he was not entitled to and if he disputes its decision it would be reasonable for him to appeal.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint concerns the Council’s decision not to issue a licence and if Mr X disputes this it would be reasonable for him to appeal to the magistrates’ court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman