Summary: We cannot investigate Mr Q’s complaint about Transport for London’s refusal to grant him a taxi licence. This is because he has appealed to a magistrates’ court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I called Mr Q, complained that Transport for London (TfL) refused to grant him a taxi licence.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. Case law has established that where an alternative remedy for a complaint has been used (such as an appeal to a court) complainants do not have an additional right to complain to the Ombudsman about matters that cannot be remedied by the appeal. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information Mr Q provided. I discussed the complaint with Mr Q and considered his comments on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Background

6. An applicant has a right of appeal to a magistrates’ court if TfL refuses their application for a mini cab driver’s licence.

What happened

7. Mr Q applied to TfL for a mini cab driver’s licence. Before doing so, he checked the available information on TfL’s website and spoke to TfL about his old criminal conviction. He was assured his criminal conviction would not be a problem because he had an advanced DBS certificate. Despite this, TfL refused his application for a licence because of his conviction. Mr Q has appealed to a magistrates’ court.
8. Mr Q believes TfL discriminated against him. He would like TfL to refund the costs he incurred in applying for the licence. He would also like us to investigate TfL’s handling of his application, as this will not be considered in his appeal to the magistrates’ court.

Assessment

9. We cannot investigate this complaint.
10. Mr Q has appealed to a magistrates’ court against TfL’s refusal of his application for a mini cab driver’s licence. We cannot investigate Mr Q’s complaint for this reason.
11. Mr Q would like us to investigate matters the magistrates’ court will not consider. We cannot do so, however, as case law has established that we cannot investigate matters that will not be remedied by his appeal.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate Mr Q’s complaint because he has appealed to a magistrates’ court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman