Bristol City Council (25 030 173)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about parking charge notices issued. Popla and the Information Commissioner’s Office are better placed.
The complaint
- Mr X says it is wrong for the Council to say that a private firm can run the parking charges on a piece of land.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X which included the Council’s reply to him.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says a private company should not be issuing parking charge notices (PCN) for land he uses. He has set out to the Council why he believes legally the Council should be controlling the charging.
- PCNs issued on a private land have a right of appeal to POPLA an independent appeals service. They are better placed to consider if any PCN issued to Mr X was rightly issued.
- Mr X says the DVLA should not have shared information with the Council and/ or PCN company. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights. It promotes openness by public bodies and protects the privacy of individuals. It deals with complaints about public authorities’ failures to comply with data protection legislation. This includes sharing information without consent.
- There is no charge for making a complaint to the ICO, and its complaints procedure is relatively easy to use. Where someone has a complaint about data protection, the Ombudsman usually expects them to bring the matter to the attention of the ICO. This is because the ICO is in a better position than the Ombudsman to consider such complaints. I consider that to be the case here and Mr X should therefore approach the ICO about his concerns.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there are other bodies better placed.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman