Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the processes the Council followed between 2017 and 2019 to adopt changes to its taxi licensing criteria. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now. Even if we were to investigate, it is unlikely we could make firm findings on the matters raised due to the time which has now passed.

The complaint

1. Mr X is a taxi driver. He complains the Council failed to:
1. properly consult when introducing new livery and CCTV to taxi cabs in its area;
2. properly consider the cost or other impacts of the policy before adding it to its taxi licensing criteria.
2. Mr X says the policy will cost him between £500 and £800 per taxi. He wants the Council to drop its requirements to fit CCTV and appoint each cab in the new livery. Mr X wants the Council to reconsult correctly with drivers and the public on the matters, taking financial impacts into account.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from Mr X, relevant online information and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. We expect people to complain to us about something they consider a council has done wrong within 12 months of their becoming aware of the matter, otherwise it would be a late complaint. We would only investigate a late complaint if we consider there are good reasons to investigate it now.
6. The Council started the policy change consultation process to introduce CCTV and the new livery for taxis in 2017. There were further stages in the process until January 2019. The Council agreed the livery details in July 2018. The Council says implementation of the CCTV policy has been delayed by supply issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. Mr X has been a driver with a taxi firm in the Council’s area for over 10 years. He would have been aware of the Council’s consultations and decisions at the time. The consultation process and policy decision to adopt CCTV and the new livery happened between 2017 and 2019. Mr X complained to us about that process and decision in August 2023. The complaint is therefore late.
8. We note that in March 2023 the Council set a new date for the implementation of the CCTV requirement. But Mr X’s complaint is about the Council’s 2017 to 2019 consultation process and the 2019 decision adopting it as policy, not about the date chosen for its enactment. The March 2023 Council date decision does not therefore bring Mr X’s complaint within the 12‑month timescale.
9. We have considered whether there are good reasons to investigate this late complaint now. The CCTV and livery requirements have been part of the Council’s Hackney carriage and private hire policy for three and a half years. There is insufficient evidence of any significant barrier which would have prevented Mr X from bringing the complaint to us much sooner, and in time. Mr X could have brought the complaints to us at the time the Council adopted these licensing requirements into its policy. There are no good reasons for us to investigate this late complaint and we will not do so.
10. We also consider the amount of time passed since the Council’s processes began and ended, between 2017 and 2019, would make it difficult for us to make firm findings. Even if there were good grounds to investigate this late complaint, which there are not, it is unlikely we would exercise discretion to investigate here.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now; and
• even if we were to investigate, it is unlikely we could make firm findings due to the time elapsed since the events complained of.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman