Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing to renew the complainant’s parking permit after it had expired. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has refused to renew her resident parking permit after it had expired.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can 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. So, we do not start 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))
3. We can consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered:
• information provided by Mrs X and the Council, which included information about the status of the Council’s permit renewal system in 2023.
• the Council’s parking permit policy.
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I appreciate Mrs X is unhappy the Council has refused to issue her with a resident parking permit, after she forgot to renew her old one before it expired. But the Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether the complainant disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
6. The Council has explained its ‘face-to-face’ renewal service was closed in 2020 due to Covid-19, and a digital service was subsequently introduced. It says there were no system failures that would have prevented Mrs X from renewing her permit in mid-2023. Rather, her permit had already expired so she could not renew it online. During a subsequent telephone call, when Mrs X highlighted a health issue she was experiencing, the Council agreed to exercise discretion to renew the expired permit. Once Mrs X had provided the correct supporting documents, her application was approved.
7. Despite the Council sending an automated reminder message to Mrs X in late‑May 2024, as her permit was due to expire, she failed to renew it on time.
8. Mrs X again called the Council, but it refused to exercise discretion on this occasions, and she is now on the waiting list for a permit.
9. I consider there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council in the way it has considered this issue to justify starting an investigation. In reaching this view I am mindful that:
• the Council sent Mrs X a reminder before the permit expired in 2024.
• the conditions of use of the permit clearly explain that:

Resident permits can be renewed as early as 6 weeks prior to their expiry. It is the permit holder’s responsibility to ensure the permit is renewed prior to its expiry date. When a permit has expired, a new application must be submitted. You should diarise the renewal of your permit to ensure it is not missed.

ATTENTION: If you hold a resident permit in a waiting list zone you must renew your permit before the expiry date (printed on the permit). Failure to renew your permit prior to the expiry date will require you to re-joint the waiting list.

Having already exercised its discretion to allow Mrs X to renew her expired permit in 2023, it was entitled to act in accordance with its policy when the permit expired again 2024.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman