Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a fixed penalty notice the Council issued to Miss X for riding a cycle on a pavement as Miss X could have presented her case in court.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about a fixed penalty notice (FPN) the Council issued to her. Miss X says she believed she was cycling on a shared use path as the signage was unclear and the junction busy and confusing. Miss X also complains about the issuing officer’s conduct saying he wrongly said she was speeding, that she was under threat of arrest and that he asked for her passport simply to know where she was from. Miss X says this caused her stress and to lose money due to the payment of the FPN.

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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 have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
4. We investigate 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Local authorities are empowered under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, 2014 (2014 Act) to make Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) to tackle anti-social behaviour within a designated area. The Council made the Earls Court PSPO in 2024. One of the activities that is prohibited under the PSPO is cycling on pavements and to do this is a criminal offence under the 2014 Act. The penalty for this is a £100 FPN.
8. FPNs are designed to allow the opportunity to discharge any liability to conviction for an offence, which means that by paying the fine, the person committing the offence, can avoid being prosecuted. If the recipient disagrees that they have committed an offence, they can decide not to pay, and the matter will then be decided by a court, should a local authority decide to prosecute. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to have presented her case in court, to challenge the FPN, had the Council decided to prosecute. We are not an appeal body in this process and we cannot determine if an offence was committed or not.
9. I have viewed the video footage of Miss X’s interaction with the Council officer that issued the FPN to her. The officer stopped Miss X and asked her to provide some identification, clarifying that this was anything with her name on it such as a bank card or a driver’s licence. The officer did not ask to see Miss X’s passport.
10. Under the PSPO, a person believed to have committed an offence is required to give their name and address to the authorised officer. We will not investigate therefore as it is unlikely we will find fault by the officer in this regard.
11. Miss X made several references to having been arrested. The officer explained Miss X was not arrested but that if she refused to provide her details, she could be arrested if the police were to attend. This took place after the officer had asked Miss X several times for some identification.
12. Under the PSPO, a person believed to have committed an offence who fails to provide their identification, commits a further criminal offence.
13. The Home Office’s document: ‘Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014: Anti-social behaviour powers – Statutory guidance for frontline professionals’ says that under section 50 of the Police and Reform Act 2002, a police officer can compel someone whom they believe to have been engaged in anti-social behaviour to provide their name and address and that failing to do so is a criminal offence. Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the police have the power of arrest to enable the name of the person, believed to have committed an offence, to be ascertained.
14. As such, that the officer said that if the police attended Miss X could be arrested, is unlikely to be fault and we will not therefore investigate.
15. The officer did say to Miss X that she was ‘coming at speed’. It is unlikely we would find fault in this as this was the subjective perception of the officer. In any case, Miss X was not caused injustice from this as the speed she was cycling was essentially irrelevant, under the provisions of the PSPO.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to have presented her case against the FPN in court should she have wished to challenge it. We will not investigate the actions of the issuing officer as it is unlikely we will find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman