London Borough of Newham (25 024 600)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 29 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s parking permit system. This is because the complaint is late and it would have been reasonable for Mr X to complain to us sooner. We also could not achieve a worthwhile outcome.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council’s online parking permit service is difficult to use. He wants it redesigned.
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 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:
- we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
- there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something the council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council said if Mr X had difficulties using the parking permit website, he should contact the provider.
- Mr X complained to the Council in March 2024. He received a response dated 28 October 2024, but he did not refer the matter to us until 24 January 2026; his complaint is therefore late. I have seen no good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to us.
- In any event, further investigation would be unlikely to achieve a different outcome. Mr X wants the Council to redesign the parking permit website. We have no power to require the Council to take such action. We could not achieve anything more for Mr X.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the complaint is late and it would have been reasonable for Mr X to complain to us sooner. We also could not achieve a worthwhile outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman