Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a business grant. The Council has now agreed to pay the grant, so there is no need for us to investigate.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council did not pay him a £10,000 small business grant. He says not having the grant made his business’ situation more difficult and caused stress. When Mr X contacted us, he wanted the Council to pay him the money.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. This complaint involves events that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government introduced a range of new and frequently updated rules and guidance during this time. We can consider whether the council followed the relevant legislation, guidance and our published “Good Administrative Practice during the response to COVID-19”.
3. We consider 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and I contacted the Council inviting it to remedy the complaint.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In March 2020, the Government created schemes for councils to pay grants to small businesses. This was because the Covid-19 restrictions affected so many of those businesses.
7. Mr X was eligible for a £10,000 grant. He applied on time. The Council accepts that faults by it meant the Council did not pay the grant before the grant scheme closed. The Council then told Mr X it could not pay the grant because the scheme had ended. However, I pointed out to the Council that the law allows it to make a payment to someone affected by maladministration. (Local Government Act 2000, section 92(1)) At my invitation, the Council then agreed to pay Mr X £10,000, which is the equivalent of the grant he would have received if the Council’s faults had not happened. The complaint is therefore resolved.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the complaint is now resolved.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman