Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse a disabled parking bay. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to refuse her a disabled parking bay. She said the Council failed to properly consider her health conditions. She wants the Council to reconsider its decision.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. If we were to investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council, it is likely we would find fault. That is because there was no evidence the Council considered additional health information provided by Miss X when reviewing its decision to refuse a disabled parking bay. In addition, the Council’s guidance for dealing with requests for disabled parking bays was unclear. We therefore invited the Council to:
• Review all information provided by Miss X and her mother in relation to the disabled parking bay, and make a new decision, setting out how it had considered the information provided and reached its decision.
• Review its current guidance on approving disabled parking bays, and whether additional guidance was needed.
6. The Council agreed to our suggested action and has confirmed it has met with Miss X to explain its decision. It is also considering ways to improve the current parking situation and reviewing how it assesses disabled parking bay applications. We are satisfied the Council’s actions remedy any injustice caused; therefore, it would not be proportionate for us to investigate this complaint further.

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Final decision

7. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportion remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman