Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to issue a blue badge. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision not to issue her a blue badge. She said it completed her mobility assessment on a good day and did not consider the fluctuating nature of her condition on her ability to walk.
2. Mrs X said she also experiences anxiety, which is heightened when she struggles to find a parking space. She wants the Council to accept it treated her unfairly in its decision to refuse a blue badge.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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

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

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My assessment

7. In Mrs X’s application for a blue badge, she described having pain in her body, which meant she had difficulty walking. She said she also had asthma and at times walking made her breathless.
8. The Council appointed an Independent Mobility Assessor (IMA) to complete an assessment. They did not observe any significant difficulties in Mrs X’s walking. They said she could walk at a good pace despite experiencing some pain. The IMA considered her condition as part of that assessment. The Council wrote to Mrs X and refused her blue badge. It said she did not meet the criteria set out by the Department of Transport.
9. Mrs X appealed. She said she struggled getting in and out of her car, and that finding a parking space caused anxiety. The Council did not uphold her appeal. It recognised her condition caused flares ups but said she did not meet the criteria for a blue badge. It set out its reasons why.
10. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. That means we will not take another look at a decision and come to our own conclusions. Instead, we look at the process the Council followed when it made its decision. If we consider it followed these processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
11. The Council considered the information and evidence provided by Mrs X. It completed an independent mobility assessment. It explained why Mrs Y was not eligible having referred to the criteria set out in the Department of Transport Guidance. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council considered Mrs X’s blue badge application to justify us investigating.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman