The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to award a blue badge for Mr X. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.
The complaint
Mr X says the Council issued him with a blue badge in 2020 and he applied to renew it in 2021. Mr X says the Council refused his application and this has limited his ability to get to hospital appointments.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says the Council issued him with a blue badge in 2020 and he applied to renew it in 2021. Mr X says the Council refused his renewal application and did not give him an explanation why.
The Department of Transport highlights when blue badge applicants can either be automatically eligible or when they may be eligible subject to a further assessment. This is also known as the discretionary test The Council explained it made a mistake when it gave Mr X a blue badge in 2020. It said from the information Mr X used in his renewal application, he was not automatically eligible and did not meet the discretionary test either. The Council invited Mr X to provide further medical evidence and it would review his renewal application.
Mr X provided the Council with medical evidence and the Council assessed this evidence in line with Mr X’s application. The Council decided this did not change its decision about Mr X’s eligibility and there is insufficient evidence of fault in how it handled the renewal application.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to award a blue badge. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman