Summary: We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint about an Advisory Disabled Parking Bay which is too short. This is because there is not sufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains the Advisory Disabled Bay (ADB) the Council provided is not long enough. He says other cars park too close which prevents him from opening the boot of his car.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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

4. I considered information provided by My Y and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr Y said the ADB the Council installed is not long enough because other cars park too close which prevents him from opening the boot of his car.
7. The Council said ADBs are not enforceable so even if the space was longer, it could still not ensure that other cars parked further away. Only disabled bays which are in Controlled Parking Zones are enforceable.
8. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation has followed to make its decision. If we consider if followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, even if someone disagrees with it.
9. The Council provided evidence that it properly considered its decision to install an ADB and explained the reasons it would not make the ADB longer.
10. I have not found sufficient evidence of fault in how the Council has made its decision, so I will not undertake an investigation.
11. The Council upheld Mr Y’s complaint about the delay in addressing his complaint. The Council apologised to Mr Y for the delay and offered a goodwill gesture. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint management. There is insufficient remaining injustice following the Council’s remedy and it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling when we are not looking at the substantive issue.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint about the Council providing an Advisory Disabled Parking Bay which is too short. This is because there is not sufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman