Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about matters relating to the Council’s care at home parking permits. This is because the matter complained about has not caused Mrs X any significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s response to her request for it to reduce the size of its care at home parking permits or to allow her carers to display a photocopy of the permit or a letter rather than the original. Mrs X also complains about complaint handling issues.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We do not start an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained to the Council about its decision not to agree her request to reduce the size of its care at home parking permits. Mrs X said there are drug users in the area who would break in to cars to steal anything of value. She was concerned about the permit being stolen and wanted to be able to store it in a smaller blue badge protector she already owned which can be locked around a car’s steering wheel. Alternatively she asked the Council to allow her carers to display a photocopy of the permit rather than the original or an explanatory letter from the Council.
7. The Council explained the reason for the permit being produced in the size it is and explained why it is paper based rather than virtual. It said it would not allow the permit to be presented as a photocopy due to the risk of fraud.
8. Mrs X says the Council recently supplied her with a smaller sized permit as requested, but remains unhappy at the length of time taken to resolve the matter.
9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because the matter complained about has not caused Mrs X any significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation by this office.
10. We do not investigate every complaint we receive. We must focus our limited public resources on investigating those complaints where a person has suffered a significant personal injustice as a result of alleged fault by a body in our jurisdiction. Whilst I note Mrs X was dissatisfied with the Council’s response to her request it did not cause her any significant personal injustice which is so serious it warrants an investigation. Whilst Mrs X was concerned the permit could be targeted, it was not and the Council explained it had received no reports of the permits being stolen. Further to this, the Council has recently issued Mrs X with a smaller sized permit as requested and so the outcome sought by Mrs X in complaining to this office has already been achieved.
11. Mrs X also raised complaint handling issues. We do not consider complaint handling issues in isolation where we are not also considering the substantive matter. This is because it is not a good use of limited public funds to do so. I also note the Council has already acknowledged and apologised to Mrs X for its delay in responding to her stage two response. It is unlikely we would add to the response the Council has already provided on that point.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the matter has not caused Mrs X any significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation and the outcome sought has already been achieved via the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman