Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s distribution of government grants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council choosing to distribute government grants for the Council through its Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) rather than allowing individual businesses to apply for the funding during a period when they had to close. She says she may have been entitled to more than the small business grant which she received during the 2020 period.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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).

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Mrs X says her business was affected in 2020 when the COVID-19 restrictions forced her to close for 8 months. She applied for a grant and received £3,500 for a small business. She says that she would have been entitled to a higher amount but the Council decided to distribute further government grant through its BIDS partnerships rather than to individual business applicants. She says this resulted in the grant being wasted on services for community projects and voluntary organisations. She believes this was contrary to the government’s guidance on spending the allcoations.
6. She says she raised the matter with the Council in 2020 and has been complaining along with her Member of Parliament for 15 months since then. She believes the Council delayed paying grants and also failed to bid for additional funding when it could have secured more government assistance.
7. The Council said in its response that it complained with government guidance and that the grant distribution was subject to legal advice and an audit and approval by the government. Mrs X says she should be shown evidence of this claim.
8. Mrs X could make a request under the Freedom of Information for disclosure of the data as she has with previous complaints. If the Council does not agree to release the information she could take the matter to the Information Commissioner who deals with these complaints.
9. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint which concerns actions which Mrs X was aware of more than 12 months before she complained to us. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s distribution of government grants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This complaint which was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman