London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 005 138)
Category : Transport and highways > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Sep 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint that the Council has refused to give the complainant a resident parking permit. It is unlikely he would find evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs C, has complained the Council will not let her have a resident parking permit.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered:
- what Mrs C said in her complaint;
- background information provided by the Council; and
- information on the Council’s website.
What I found
- The Council’s terms and conditions relating to resident parking permits state clearly the applicant’s address must be on the Local Land and Property Gazetteer (an official database of addresses). This address must also be the same as on the applicant’s driver’s licence and the vehicle registration documents.
- The address of Mrs C’s home on the Gazetteer includes a building name. This was deleted manually on the deeds to Mrs C’s home and it seems she has never used the building name when giving her address. As a result, the address on her driver’s licence and vehicle registration documents is not the same as the one in the Gazetteer. For this reason, the Council will not let her have a resident parking permit.
- The Council has suggested Mrs C either pays to have the address in the Gazetteer altered or asks the DVLA to alter her address in its records and issue new documents. The Council has offered her a temporary parking permit to give her time to resolve the issue.
Final decision
- I have decided we will not investigate this complaint. We are unlikely to find fault by the Council because it has followed its policy and procedures.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman