Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to suspend disabled parking bays in a specific area between January 2026 and March 2026. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council:
1. suspended disabled parking bays in an area it is responsible for between January 2026 and March 2026; and
2. failed to consider its duties under the Equality Act 2010 when making the decision to suspend parking.
2. Mr X said the matter caused him distress and frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council temporarily suspended the parking bays due to construction work in the area. It considered the impact on disabled users and whether it could provide alternative parking but decided it could not. It deliberately conducted the work at a time of year when traffic and parking demand is generally low.
7. 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.
8. We cannot find that an organisation has breached the Equality Act. However, we can find an organisation at fault for failing to take account of its duties under the Equality Act.
9. Based on the information available, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision-making to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. It considered the relevant factors when it suspended the bays. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman