A grandfather and keen biker was wrongly denied a licence to ride his motorcycles for over three years, according to the national Ombudsman.

Paul Olsen, a graphic designer who airbrushed the pearl surface of the original Star Trek Motion Picture Enterprise model, has been riding motorbikes for over 60 years.

Over the past half a century he has owned Triumph Bonnevilles, Yamahas, Tritons, and Kawasaki bikes. However, when he tried to have a new motorcycle insured in 2018, he was informed that he didn’t have the right type of licence.

Paul, who also created the film titles for The Abyss, Terminator 2, and Die Hard, said:

“I had the surprise of my life when they said I didn’t have the right biking entitlement on my licence.

“I got a British driving licence and motorbike licence when I moved here from San Francisco in 1969. In the early 1970’s, I was re-issued a lifetime licence. But somewhere along the way, the DVLA must have dropped the ball.

“This was before everything became digitised, so I didn’t know that my entitlement was no longer on the licence.”

After complaining unsuccessfully to the DVLA, Paul, who is developing a TV programme about motorbikes and the adventures you can have on them, went to the Independent Complaints Assessor (ICA).

The ICA found that it was more likely than not that he held full motorcycle entitlements but couldn’t recommend the DVLA give him a new entitlement because they had followed procedure. However, the ICA said the outcome of Mr Olsen’s case was ‘perverse and unfair’.

Paul, who lives in Surrey, then brought his case to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The Ombudsman found that the DVLA was too rigid when deciding that his evidence didn’t prove he was entitled to ride motorbikes. They also found that the DVLA’s record keeping was flawed in this case.

The PHSO directed the DVLA to apologise, refund the £70 it had cost Paul to cancel his insurance, and give him £1,000 in compensation. It also asked the DVLA to use their discretion to reinstate his entitlement to drive a motorbike.

The DVLA has complied with all of these actions.

Paul currently owns three classic bikes: a Kawasaki W650 named Izzy, a Triumph Bonneville named Lizzy, a Triumph Sprint named Roxy, and a Vespa scooter named Doodles. He said:

“The PHSO and ICA were terrific. My caseworker at the PHSO was terrific, and a real old-school gentleman who was a quietly persistent terrier.

“I’m delighted at the outcome because I was so fed up with the DVLA being unreasonable.

“Riding motorcycles is the mechanical equivalent of riding a horse; you’re out there on your own in nature. It’s just you and your mechanical steed.

“I live in a beautiful part of the world and go out for two or three hours just riding. It’s simplicity itself, a very personal experience.”

Ombudsman Rob Behrens said:

“It was clear to both us and the ICA that a mistake had been made. When that happens, organisations should acknowledge what has gone wrong and take steps to put that right.

“Unfortunately, the DVLA did not do that and were inflexible in handling Mr Olsen’s complaint. I’m delighted we were able to resolve Mr Olsen’s case and have his motorbike entitlements reinstated so he can enjoy his passion for biking.”

Read the case summary.

This Bulletin highlights some of our most recent investigation reports, including those which found serious failings in two care homes, and into complaints about the Department for the Economy and the Department for Communities.  It also provides other updates on our work.

The Annual Report of the Public Services Ombudsman for the year ending 31st December 2020 was laid in Parliament on Wednesday 21st December 2021.

Download our Annual Report 2021

FRA spoke at the kick-off conference of a new EU-funded research project that will measure irregular migration in the European Union.

The MIrreM project will run from 2022 to 2025. It aims to address the challenges of insufficient knowledge about irregular migration and on regularisation in Europe by actively involving relevant stakeholders in every stage of the project.

The NGO Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) coordinated the launch conference. It took place on 15 December online. Some 180 participants joining remotely.

It was a chance to present the project and the consortium. There were discussions on the need for more data on undocumented populations and an exchange of views on strategic approaches to regularisation.

FRA talked about its research methodologies and its previous research on the rights of irregular migrants.

The purpose of the World Braille Day, observed on 4 January, is to raise awareness about the significance of the alphabet enabling blind and partially sighted people to convert the written word into a tactile form so they can read and write. The Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina stresses that this alphabet is one of the most important steps in providing the blind and partially sighted equal opportunities to integrate in society. An inclusive society seeks solutions and acts on ideas that do not exclude the blind and partially sighted from society, but help them live as normally and fully as possible. “It has to be made possible for each and every one of us to realise our own potential. Learning and education belong among fundamental human rights and it is inclusive education that opens the door into the world and independent living for blind and partially sighted children and young people. With adjustments they can acquire a multitude of information, communicate, and integrate into society and actively participate in it,” emphasises the Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina.

The institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman frequently calls on decision makers to ensure that all citizens enjoy equal access to information in a form understandable to them. “We encourage different state institutions to enable the disabled to be heard, seen, and understood, regardless of their impairment. Furthermore, we make sure that those who can and must act are familiarised with examples of discrimination of the blind and partially sighted as well as of other vulnerable groups. I can still not be satisfied with the accessibility of facilities in public use for sensory disabled people. Namely, our recent Special Report on Accessibility of Centres for Social Work for People with Movement and Sensory Impairments revealed that none of the offices of the centres for social work in Slovenia provides signs in the Braille alphabet for the blind and partially sighted. At the time of inspection, only one unit of the total of 63 in the country had tactile markers for the orientation of the blind and partially sighted installed. Without adjustments, disabled people are even more vulnerable and pushed to the margins of society since their constitutionally guaranteed rights are not respected. The institution of the Ombudsman will always raise its voice for all those who cannot do it for themselves and help them live a decent life,” says the Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina on the occasion of World Braille Day.