The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complained she was unable to use the Council’s online tool for reporting highways repairs issues as she is blind, and it was not compatible with her ‘screen reader’. We have decided not to continue investigating Ms X’s complaint as she has died. We are satisfied the Council is aware sight impaired people who use a ‘screen reader’ cannot use its online reporting tool for highways repairs, and it has offered them an alternative way to report.
The complaint
Ms X complained the Council’s online tool for reporting highways issues was not compatible with her screen reader. Ms X said this made it difficult for her to report issues that were affecting her and track their progress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome for the complainant. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council.
I considered the relevant law and guidance as set out below.
Comments on this draft decision will be considered before I make a final decision.
Law and guidance The reasonable adjustment duty is set out in the Equality Act 2010 and applies to anybody which carries out a public function. It aims to make sure that a disabled person can use a service as close as it is reasonably possible to get to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people.
What I found
What happened Ms X was a blind woman who used a screen reader. Screen readers convert text into speech, enabling blind or partially sighted people to read web content.
Ms X complained to the Council in January 2021 that she was unable to use the Council’s ‘Report-It’ and ‘Track-It’ tools to raise highways repairs issues on the Council’s website, as they were not compatible with her screen reader.
As a blind person this was important to Ms X, as she said she needed to alert the Council if paving was uneven, or enquire when road works would be completed, as these disruptions in her path put her at risk of falling and injuring herself.
The Council informed Ms X in correspondence that she could report issues using a telephone number instead if the website was not compatible with her screen reader.
As a result of Ms X’s complaint, it gave her a phone number to report issues. In addition, the Council added an email option for those unable to use its online reporting tool as it is not currently compatible for those using a screen reader.
The Council's 'Tell us about road or highway issues' webpage, has an ‘Accessibility’ option that explains what areas of the website are not compatible with a screen reader. It offers an email address for people unable to use the online tool to report issues or use the interactive map. They can also use the email address to request copies of highways documents which were published before 2018 that are not yet accessible using a screen reader.
After Ms X complained to us, and we began our investigation, we were informed Ms X had died.
My findings
Ms X has died and there is no one to represent her complaint to us. In addition, we would no longer be able to remedy any personal disadvantage she may have suffered. Therefore, we have decided to end our investigation into any alleged injustice she was caused.
Nevertheless, during our investigations we considered the general issues she raised about the Council’s 'Tell us about road or highway issues' webpage. We are satisfied the Council took action following her complaint and it now offers alternative routes for disabled people to report highways issues.
Final decision
I have discontinued my investigation into Ms X’s complaint because she has died and there is no one to represent her case to us.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman