Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (24 020 472)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 Mar 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because the complainant appealed to the tribunal.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains about a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). He was displaying a blue badge and says the Council has discriminated against him as a disabled person.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the tribunal decision. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complains about a PCN. He was displaying a blue badge and says the parking restrictions were not properly signed.
- I cannot start an investigation because Mr X appealed to the tribunal. The law says we cannot investigate any matter that has been the subject of an appeal to the tribunal. This restriction applies even though Mr X continues to dispute the PCN and disagrees with the tribunal’s decision.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint because Mr X appealed to the tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman