Summary
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a taxi licence exemption for a driver under the Equality Act 2010. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. If the exemption is refused the complainant has a right of appeal to the Magistrates Court.
The complaint
Mr X complained about the Council refusing to grant him a medical exemption from assisting taxi passengers in wheelchairs which is a requirement of the Equality act 2010. He says he has spent four years trying to obtain a permanent exemption and the Council has refused all his attempts, even though he successfully challenged its decision in the Magistrates Court in 2022.
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 or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, 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), as amended, section 34(B)) We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X says he has been seeking an exemption from assisting wheelchair users for his taxi licence since 2019. He says the Council has resisted his requests and in March 2022 he says he successfully challenged its decisions in the Magistrates Court. However, he says the Council has insisted on having his physical condition independently assessed before it will consider an exemption certificate. He says the Council is being unreasonably obstructive.
The Council told Mr X that it required his medical details from his GP in 2023 because it needed to send them to an independent assessor. This is because the legislation relating to exemptions under the Equality Act 2010 changed in June 2022 when the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 introduced different requirements for an exemption.
We will not consider the matters which took place in 2019 to 2023 because these were events outside the normal 12-month period for accepting complaints. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
The Council sent Mr X’s medical details to an independent medical consultant in March 2024 and it sent a reminder to them in May. The Council has no control over how quickly the medical assessments are assessed by consultants. If Mr X does not receive an exemption he may challenge this decision under s.172 of the Equality Act 2010.
Mr X said he wants the Council to grant him a permanent exemption. The government guidance says the exemption may be issued for as long or as short as the licensing authority considers appropriate according to the applicant’s physical or medical condition.
The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
Final decision
We will not investigate We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a taxi licence exemption for a driver under the Equality Act 2010. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. If the exemption is refused the complainant has a right of appeal to the Magistrates Court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman