Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Authority’s decision not to renew the vehicle licence for the complainant’s taxi. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Authority.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, disagrees with the Authority’s decision not to renew the vehicle licence for his taxi. He says the Authority should consider his health and that he was unaware of the deadline. He says the Authority should over-rule the computer system.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Authority. This includes the correspondence about the licence and the licensing rules. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The Authority issued age limits for taxis in 2019. Since 2022 the age limit for the type of taxi driven by Mr X is 12 years. This means his taxi cannot be licensed for any period over 11 years from the date of registration with DVLA. Mr X’s taxi was registered with DVLA on 3 October 2013 and the last day he could apply to renew the licence was 2 October 2024. The rules say the Authority cannot issue a licence for less than 12 months.
5. The Authority wrote to Mr X in October 2023. It said his vehicle licence will expire on 6 November 2023. It referred to the age rules and said the taxi cannot reach 12 years of age during the course of the licence. The Authority provided a link so Mr X could read additional information about the age limits.
6. Mr X applied to renew the taxi vehicle on 6 November 2024. The Authority rejected the application because it cannot licence a taxi into its twelfth year and that would apply to the vehicle from October 2025.
7. Mr X says he was unaware of the deadline. He says the Authority should over-ride the system and manually issue a new licence for the 11 months before the taxi reaches 12 years of age. Mr X says he needs to work for reasons linked to his health.
8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Authority. This is because the decision to reject the licence application reflects the policy and Mr X was provided with information about the rules in 2023. The Authority cannot over-ride the system because the decision is based on the rules, not a computer system.
9. Mr X has explained why it is important that he continues to work as a taxi driver. However, we are not an appeal body and cannot ask the Authority to renew the licence when that would be contrary to the age rules.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Authority.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman