Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council refused her application for a Blue Badge for her son. We ended our investigation into the complaint. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not likely achieve a worthwhile outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council wrongly refused her application for a disabled person’s parking badge (Blue Badge) for her son, Y, in 2024. She says the Council failed to consider all the evidence she provided and should not have refused to renew Y’s Blue Badge.
2. She says that without the Blue Badge she is not able to transport Y safely, which causes a risk of harm to Y and causes her avoidable worry and inconvenience. She wants the Council to reverse its decision and renew Y’s 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 provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants; or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information Miss X provided and discussed the complaint with her.
7. I also considered the Council’s response to Miss X’s complaint and records of how it made its decisions.
8. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background

9. Miss X applied to renew a Blue Badge for her son in mid-2024.
10. The Council considered Miss X’s application and the supporting evidence she provided. However, it decided that the evidence did not support Y’s need for a Blue Badge.
11. Miss X appealed the Council’s decision and provided more evidence, including information from Y’s school. Miss X also says she provided speech and language therapy, and occupational reports.
12. The Council refused Miss X’s appeal, after considering the information from Y’s school.
13. After Miss X complained to the Ombudsman, she reapplied to the Council with more up-to-date evidence. The Council refused Miss X’s application and she is currently waiting for the outcome of her appeal.

Ending my investigation

14. The Ombudsman’s role is not to decide whether Y should have a Blue Badge. That is the Council’s decision to make. The Ombudsman’s role would be to consider whether the Council had made its decisions properly.
15. Even if we found the Council had not properly considered all the evidence, it is unlikely we would recommend the Council changed it decision or give Y a Blue Badge. Instead, we would likely recommend the Council reviewed its decision, taking all the evidence into account.
16. However, the Council has since refused Miss X’s new application, based on more up-to-date evidence about Y’s needs. Therefore, any recommendation to review its earlier decisions from mid-2024 would likely not achieve a worthwhile outcome.
17. For these reasons, I consider further investigation by the Ombudsman could not achieve the result Miss X wants and would not achieve a worthwhile outcome.
18. If Miss X considers the Council did not properly consider her latest application or appeal, she would need to complain about those decisions separately.

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Final decision

19. I have ended my investigation. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not likely achieve a worthwhile outcome.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman