Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking enforcement issues in the complainant’s road. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council has failed to adequately enforce against cars parking on zig-zag lines, double-yellow lines and in a disabled bay outside a school near his house.
2. Mr X says he has received abuse from the drivers, and he is concerned about the impact of fumes on his health, residents and the children attending the school. He is also prevented from parking in the disabled bay.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman can 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, which included the Council’s complaint responses.
5. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council about cars parking outside the school near his home in restricted areas. The Council responded to Mr X, explaining the times its enforcement officers had patrolled the area between October and December 2022, and the actions they had taken.
7. While Mr X may wish for further patrols of the area and more robust enforcement action, there is no evidence of fault by the Council in how it has responded to his concerns and allocated its limited resources. So, we will not investigate the complaint.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman