London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (22 003 570)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Jul 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council consulted on traffic restrictions in its area. This is because Mrs X is not affected by the restrictions and her carers can register with the Council so they are also exempt.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council failed to carry out a proper consultation regarding traffic restrictions in its area. Mrs X says the restrictions will prevent her carer from being able to come into the area to help her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X is resident in the Council’s area and so the proposed traffic restrictions do not affect her as she is entitled to a residents pass meaning she can use the area affected free of charge. Therefore, Mrs X has not been caused an injustice by the introduction of the scheme, regardless of how the consultation has been handled.
- Mrs X says she has carers who come and help her. Mrs X says she cannot navigate the Council’s online technology to register her carers. Mrs X has only raised this issue as part of her complaint to the Ombudsman. The Council says that carers who live outside its area can register with it directly so they are exempt from the restrictions. Therefore, Mrs X has not been caused an injustice as a result of the Council’s decision to trial the restrictions.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has not been caused an injustice by the actions of the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman