More than 200 residents of London Borough to have their rejected applications for Freedom Passes reviewed following Ombudsman investigation

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has uncovered flaws with the way the London Borough of Newham considered applications for Freedom Passes, after receiving a complaint from a disabled resident.

Following the investigation, more than 200 Newham residents are to have their rejected applications for the concessionary travel passes reviewed.

Freedom Passes allow residents to travel for free or get discounts on a range of transport services across London.

The report noted that the disabled man, Mr X, complained to the Ombudsman about the council’s decision not to approve his application for a Freedom Pass. Mr X said the council “failed to properly apply the law”.

Despite Mr X including supporting documents from the NHS about his disability, and the fact he was on a waiting list for a hip replacement, the London Borough of Newham rejected his application, said the report.

The Ombudsman investigated and concluded that the council “did not have a specific policy in place for determining Freedom Pass applications, and the way it carried out assessments was not in line with guidance”.

To remedy the injustice caused, the council was recommended to apologise to the man and pay him a combined £400 for the uncertainty and avoidable frustration the situation caused him.

The Ombudsman revealed that the council has agreed to the recommendations, and will request relevant evidence from the man and reconsider his application.

The London borough will also review 238 rejected Freedom Pass applications it refused in the financial year 2022-23 “in line with its new policy”, the report added.

Paul Najsarek, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “We expect councils to follow guidance unless they have a valid reason not to. In this case, the council’s assessment process lacked transparency and officers did not consider whether it was necessary to offer the man an independent medical assessment before deciding his application.

“We also found the council did not deal with the man’s application or appeal in a timely fashion.

“I am pleased the council quickly accepted fault in this case, and has agreed to revisit the cases of other people who may have been affected by its lack of proper policy. By putting a new policy in place, the council should prevent this situation happening to other people.”

A council spokesperson said: "The Council apologises unreservedly to the complainant for how his case has been managed and the difficulty that our failure has caused him. We completely accept the findings of the Ombudsman’s report and will work quickly to implement all recommendations in full.

"We recognise that more people could be affected by this decision so we are immediately reviewing how we assess and allocate Freedom Passes. This includes going beyond the recommendations of the Ombudsman to understand if there were historic applications made to the Council that were rejected but should have been successful. We will then be contacting any individual affected to encourage them to reapply. We will publish the outcome of our review of this process and the findings of the LGO report at a public meeting within the deadline set by the Ombudsman."

Councillor Neil Wilson, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care said: “I am so sorry for the situation that the complainant faced. The Mayor has taken personal interest in this case throughout the LGO investigation and has met with him on a number of occasions to ensure a full and thorough internal review was undertaken and to champion his case with Council Officers. The Council has apologised to the complainant personally and has outlined how we as a Council will improve as a result of his case to ensure that this failure is not repeated for any other resident. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the complainant for his time and determination in tackling this issue.”

“This case represents a failure in how we as a Council work. I have spoken to the  departments to emphasise the importance of ensuring that we not only administer freedom passes effectively and in line with all available guidance, but also actively listen to the valid concerns raised by our residents at all times. As a Council we will immediately improve how we manage Freedom Pass applications and this includes delivering all of the recommendations made by the Ombudsman and, going beyond, to audit further historic cases to understand if other applications have been wrongly rejected.”

Lottie Winson