Somerset Council (24 017 594)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Apr 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking permit scheme. This is because investigation would not achieve a different outcome.
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council agreed to roll out a parking permit scheme in his area by October 2024, but it has still not done this. He says the current parking provision is a risk to residents, and he wants the Council to provide a timeline for completion. Mr X says the Council did not always respond to his correspondence and he felt ignored.
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 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:
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
- we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.
- (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council explained the delay in implementing the parking permit scheme was due to availability of its resources. Mr X is unhappy the Council will not provide a specific date for completion, but the Council says it is not in the position to confirm a date in the event it needs to postpone.
- We recognise Mr X’s frustration, but it has no duty to make the scheme or make it within a specific period. The Council has advertised the scheme this year and allowed the statutory consultation period, so the process is moving forward. There is nothing further an Ombudsman investigation would be able to achieve, as we could not recommend the Council rolls the scheme out unless its resources will allow.
- Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we could not achieve a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman