London Borough of Lambeth (26 005 167)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council refused his application for a parking permit. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council refused his application for a parking permit. Mr X said he was approved for a permit for more than 10 years before the Council recently determined he was ineligible.
- Mr X said the matter caused him distress and frustration.
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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X received a parking permit for his area over a period of 10 years. For his most recent application, the Council found a legal restriction in place which meant Mr X was not eligible. Mr X said the Council should provide transitional parking arrangements because it previously provided parking.
- We will not investigate this complaint. Mr X had the benefit of a parking permit for more than 10 years when he was not technically eligible.
- The Ombudsman is 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 followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
- The Council discovered the restriction and appropriately applied it to Mr X’s application. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making, and so we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman