The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council issuing him penalty points for driving through a red light. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mr X is a taxi driver. He drove through a red light, and the Council issued him nine penalty points. Mr X complains this is unfair and the Council did not consider the mitigating reasons he put forward.
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 (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
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).
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 drove his taxi through a red light. The Council issued nine penalty points. Mr X appealed and the Council considered the information he put forward. It decided to uphold its original decision and explained its reasons.
The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. We look at the process a council followed to make its decision. If the Council followed its process correctly, we cannot question that decision even if a complainant disagrees with the decision made. I see no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision to award the penalty points; the decision was made in line with the Council’s policy.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman