Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing an appeal for a blue badge. This is because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council which carried out a mobility assessment in accordance with government guidance. It is not our role to question the merits of a properly made decision.

The complaint

1. The complainant (Miss P) complains about the Council refusing her young daughter’s appeal for a blue badge. She says the Council did so due to the lack of a clear diagnosis for certain conditions. However, she says this does not mean her daughter does not have difficulties and is not eligible for a blue badge.
2. In summary, Miss P says the alleged fault has meant significant practical and emotional hardship for her daughter and the wider family. Further, she says the Council’s decisions amounts to discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. As a desired outcome, Miss P wants the Council to reconsider the application.

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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)).
4. Our role is not to ask whether an organisation could have done things better, or whether we agree or disagree with what it did. Instead, we look at whether there was fault in how it made its decisions. If we decide there was no fault in how it did so, we cannot ask whether it should have made a particular decision or say it should have reached a different outcome.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. In early November 2023, Miss P submitted an appeal against the Council’s initial response declining to issue her daughter a blue badge. The Council referred to government guidance (Guidance) issued by the Department of Transport in 2022 and noted that the blue badge application did not meet automatic eligibility criteria. It therefore arranged an assessment by a certified occupational therapist and physiotherapist to consider Miss P’s daughter’s mobility further against Guidance. While noting some difficulties, the assessor did not consider Miss P’s daughter met the eligibility criteria. It was also noted that some specific health concerns had not yet been certified as a condition or disability which is a required under the Guidance. In my view, the Council has properly conducted a mobility assessment and considered Miss P’s application against the Guidance. I am unlikely to find fault by the Council in these circumstances and it is not our role to question the merits of a properly made decision.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council and it is not our role to question the merits of a properly made decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman