Lincolnshire County Council (23 001 179)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 31 May 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to consider the complainants’ proposals for parking restrictions where he lives. The complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is not enough evidence of fault. The Council has explained it will not consider alternatives to the parking arrangements.
The complaint
- The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council should allow residents where he lives to apply for parking permits covered by other Resident’s Parking Schemes (RPS).
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
- The Council had introduced RPS’s in areas surrounding his home. The final RPS proposal covered the place where he lives. However, the Council’s Planning & Regulation Committee decided not to this. He says this has made parking difficult.
- Mr X has suggested the Council allow the residents where he lives to apply for permits in the surrounding RPS areas. The Council has confirmed it will not consider the matter further as officers consider the RPS for Mr X’s area, which was refused by Committee, was the best option to reduce parking problems.
- We will not investigate this complaint. There is not enough evidence of administrative fault. There is no duty on the Council to consider Mr X’s suggestion to allow non-residents to apply for parking permits in other RPS areas.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman