Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to act on the complainant’s reports of parking problems in the road where the complainant lives. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council fails to act on reports of pressure on parking in the road where she lives. She says workers from a nearby business park in her street meaning residents cannot park near their homes. She wants the Council to introduce resident only parking permits.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
6. I appreciate the parking issues are inconvenient and Mrs X is frustrated she and other residents cannot park close to their homes.
7. The Council says it will continue to patrol the area. However, its parking enforcement team has indicated that they are having difficulty enforcing parking restrictions, due to issues with the signs and lines. The Council confirms the street is on its parking defect list, and any defects will be rectified in the next package of maintenance works. However, it cannot confirm when this will take place.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault. The Council confirms parking enforcement officers patrol the street and it is on its list for work to improve the parking restriction signs and lines.
9. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body and cannot comment on the merits of decisions made without fault in the process. The Council has discretion about how best to manage its highways and funds.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman