Swale Borough Council (21 012 532)
Category : Transport and highways > Traffic management
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Jan 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking enforcement in Mr X’s road. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, complains about the Council’s enforcement of cars parking outside a school during restricted times. The school is close to his home and the fumes affect his health and he is concerned about the safety of children.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 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, or
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
- we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council, including the Council’s responses to his complaint.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council about cars parking outside the school near his home within the restricted hours. The Council responded to Mr X explaining the times its enforcement officers patrol the area and detailing their observations and the PCNs issued. It also clarified the matters for which the County Council is responsible.
- While Mr X may wish for further patrols of the area, and is concerned about car fumes affecting his health, there is no evidence of fault by the Council and we will not investigate the complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman