Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a COVID-19 business grant paid in 2020. This is because the complaint is late and we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X by investigating the matter now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council paid a COVID-19 business grant to a third party when it should have paid the grant to him. He says his business struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic and has subsequently closed. He has also struggled financially as he did not have another job. Mr X is concerned the third party acted fraudulently and may attempt to defraud others.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X’s representative, Mr Y, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The COVID-19 business grant referred to relates to the initial business grant scheme set up by the government in April 2020. The Council says it paid Mr X the grant in August 2020 and Mr X knew about this in December 2020. He raised a formal complaint with the Council in March 2021 and received a response inviting him to escalate the matter to Stage 2 of its complaints process on 23 March 2021. But Mr X did not complain further and has only raised the matter with us now, more than two years later. The complaint is therefore late in accordance with Paragraph 3 above.
6. While we have discretion to investigate late complaints I have seen no good reasons for us to exercise it in this case; the Council told Mr X he could escalate his complaint at the time but he did not do so.
7. It is also unlikely we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X by investigating now in any event. This is because we cannot hold the Council responsible for the loss of Mr X’s business or say it must pay the grant to his business now it has closed. We also cannot say the Council must take action to recover the payment from any third party.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is late and we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman