Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council backdating business rates liability for six years and not backdating eligibility for a small business grant. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council backdating his liability for business rates to 2017. He says during that period he should have qualified for a small business grant during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 but the Council has not backdated this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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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.

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My assessment

5. Mr X says the Council backdated his business rates liability in 2023 back to 2017. He says that during this period he should have qualified by a small business grant under the government’s Covid -19 support policy which would reduce the liability.
6. The Council told Mr X that the business rates liability can be backdated up to 6 years under the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and associated legislation. The Covid-19 grants were part of a government funded scheme which was implemented by local councils. The scheme had eligibility criteria and cut-off dates determined by the government. The scheme was ended by the government in 2020 and as Mr X was not eligible at the time he cannot request a grant retrospectively.
7. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
8. In this case the Council has explained to Mr X why he was made liable for business rates back to 2017 and why he cannot claim a Covid-19 grant now.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council backdating business rates liability for six years and not backdating eligibility for a small business grant. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman