Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse her blue badge application and how it made that decision. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable from our investigation which is not available to her through a new blue badge application to the Council. We also cannot achieve the outcomes she wants from her complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs X applied for a blue badge, to give her access to more accessible parking places, in late 2022. The Council refused her application in January 2023, after she requested a review of its initial decision. Mrs X complains the Council:
1. unfairly refused her a blue badge;
2. failed to take into consideration all the facts when determining her application;
3. made its decision after a telephone assessment which did not allow them to appreciate the full details.
2. Mrs X says since the Council rejected her application, her condition has got worse. She says it is now more important for her to have a blue badge, to minimise her standing and walking and help her with her mobility.
3. Mrs X wants the Council to review her blue badge application, to take account of the medical information she has received since January 2023. She wants the Council to use an independent person to do the review by meeting her in person.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation;
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information from Mrs X, the national guidance on administration of the blue badge scheme issued to local authorities, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The key outcome Mrs X wants to achieve from her complaint is for the Council to reconsider her blue badge application and to take into account the additional medical information she has received during 2023. Mrs X says her conditions have worsened since the Council refused her 2022 application.
7. The Council’s January 2023 decision letter states that Mrs X can reapply for a blue badge at any time if she considers her mobility has got worse. It advises she can do this by providing any new medical evidence about her conditions which the Council has not already considered. Mrs X can provide the new medical information she has received during 2023 and ask it to consider it as part of a fresh blue badge application. We cannot assess Mrs X’s mobility and whether she is entitled to a badge based on her new information. That is an assessment only the Council can make as the authority charged with making blue badge decisions. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable from us investigating the January 2023 decision which is not already available to Mrs X by her reapplying to the Council for a blue badge with her new medical information, so we will not investigate.
8. We note Mrs X also wanted an independent person to assess her application, and for her assessment to be an in-person one. There is no duty on councils under national government’s blue badge guidance to use independent assessors. The assessor is required to have appropriate expertise to do the assessment and it is for councils to decide who should consider each application. We could not have ordered the Council to appoint an independent assessor for Mrs X’s 2022 blue badge application. We also understand Mrs X wanted an in-person assessment, rather than the one she had over the telephone. The national blue badge guidance allows councils to decide applications without in‑person assessments. Councils can decide whether a face‑to-face assessment is required, based on the facts of each application. We could not have ordered the Council to do an in‑person assessment for Mrs X’s 2022 application. It follows from this that we also cannot order the Council to use an independent expert assessor or give Mrs X an in-person assessment for any future blue badge application she makes. That we cannot achieve these outcomes she wants from her complaint is a further reason why we will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because:

• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation; and
• we cannot achieve the outcomes she seeks from her complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman