Summary: Mrs B complains that the Council was wrong to refuse her son, C, a personalised disabled parking bay. C has autism, severe behavioural difficulties, physical problems as a result of a birth defect which cause muscle weakness, and asthma. Although he has a Blue Badge, the family frequently have to park far from their home and have great difficulty transferring C between the car and their home. This can also be very distressing for C. Mrs B says that C needs a personalised disabled bay so that they can safely transfer him between his special needs pushchair and their car.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice. 

Recommendations

To remedy the injustice to C and his family, the Council has agreed to:

• pay the family £1,000 to reflect the significant distress and inconvenience caused as a result of the delay installing a parking bay;
• ensure that officers are aware of the implications of an award of higher rate mobility Disability Living Allowance and that decisions relating to parking bay applications take into account both the exceptions in its policy and the Council’s general discretion; and
• ensure that decision letters on both Blue Badge and parking bay applications contain sufficient information to enable the applicant to clearly understand the reasons for that decision.

Within three months of the decision date of this report, it will:

• install a parking bay for C;
• review its parking bay policy, having regard to how it should take into account hidden disabilities; and then write to those applicants who have been refused a parking bay over the past year and inform them of the changes to its policy.

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