Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to tell the complainant he must get in touch about his taxi driver licence before his right to work expired. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council did not tell him to get in touch about his taxi driver licence before his right to work expired. Mr X wants a new licence as soon as possible.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the correspondence about the licence, the taxi licensing policy and the application form. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. The Council’s licensing policy says people must demonstrate they have the right to work in the UK. The Council will limit the duration of a licence to the period of the right to work.
5. The application form says people must provide proof of their right to work and a licence will be issued for the length of the right to work. The form states the right to work check will be repeated every time someone applies to renew or extend the licence.
6. The expiry date is stated on the licence. The Council can issue a licence for up to three years.
7. The Council issued Mr X with a taxi driver licence. It expired in September 2022 in line with his right to work. Mr X contacted the Council in March 2023 and tried to renew his licence. The Council said he would need to make a new application because the previous licence had expired and there was nothing to renew. Mr X says he contacted the Home Office but there were delays due to Covid. Mr X says the Council did not tell him to get in touch before his licence expired.
8. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. There is information on the Council’s website, and on the application form, which makes it clear that a licence is dependent on someone having the right to work. It was Mr X’s responsibility to extend his right to work, and renew the licence, before the licence expired. Mr X did not contact the Council until more than six months after the licence had expired so there was nothing for the Council to renew. The Council was correct to say he would have to submit a new application and any new application would be dependent on Mr X providing current information about his right to work.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman