Warrington Council (24 014 953)
Category : Benefits and tax > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to reclaim a COVID-19 business grant. That is because it is a late complaint.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to reclaim a COVID-19 business grant. Mr X said the Council had failed to consider the evidence he had provided demonstrating he was eligible for the grant. He wants the Council to complete an independent review into its handling of the case.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council reviewed Mr X’s eligibility for the COVID-19 business grant at the start of 2023. It wrote to him in March 2023 stating his application was not eligible. Mr X responded to the Council disagreeing. The Council considered his comments however, it did not change its view. It wrote to him setting that out. In July 2023, it passed responsibility for reclaiming the grant to the Department for Business and Trade. It confirmed that in September 2023.
- Mr X knew of the Council’s decision in April 2023. He did not complain to the Ombudsman until November 2024. Therefore, this is a late complaint and we should not investigate. There are no good reasons Mr X did not complain to us sooner about the Council’s decision.
- In addition, the Council has passed the matter to the Department for Business and Trade. Therefore, any ongoing dispute about repaying the grant is with the Department, not the Council. We have no jurisdiction to investigate the actions of the Department.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman