Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant does not qualify for a small business grant (Covid-19 support). This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, disagrees with the Council that he does not qualify for a £10,000 small business grant. The grant is designed to help businesses during Covid-19.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s responses to Mr X’s application for a grant. I also considered emails Mr X sent to the Council and the Government rules on eligibility for the grant. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

Back to top

What I found

Small Business Grant

4. The rules, set by the Government, say a person will qualify for a grant if they were registered as the rate payer on 11 March 2020.

What happened

5. Mr X has operated his business since October 2018. He was not aware he needed to register for business rates. He registered for business rates in April 2020. The Council backdated the registration to October 2018.
6. Mr X applied for the small business grant. Due to Covid-19 he has had to reduce his hours of business and has had fewer customers.
7. The Council refused the grant application because Mr X was not registered for business rates on 11 March 2020. It invited Mr X to provide evidence if he did register before 11 March.

Assessment

8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The rules say a person must have been registered for business rates before 11 March 2020. According to the Council’s records, Mr X was not registered on 11 March. The Council has assessed the application in accordance with the rules so there is no reason to start an investigation.
9. The Ombudsman does not act as an appeal body. He cannot intervene simply because the Council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

Back to top

Final decision

10. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman