Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the business Restart Grant available due to COVID-19. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr D, complains the Council failed to contact him about the business restart grant. He says that because of this his business has missed out financial help.
2. He wants the grant paid.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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”.
4. 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 or continue with an investigation if we believe:
• it is unlikely we would find fault
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended); or

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr D and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In March 2021 the Government introduced grant support for non-essential retail, hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care, and gym businesses in England. This support was a one-off grant funding scheme called the Restart Grant and was administered by local councils. The scheme operated between 1 April and 30 June 2021.
8. Mr D says he does not have access to the internet.
9. Mr D was awarded 2 grants under other schemes. He says he had applied on paper for one and the other was applied for online by his son on his behalf. Mr D says during a telephone call, an officer agreed the Council would contact him and tell him about any new funding which became available as he did not have internet access.
10. Later in the year Mr D became aware of the Restart Grant. He contacted the Council but was told the scheme closed on 30 June and no further funding was available.
11. The Council say it has no record of the telephone call in which Mr D says an officer agreed the Council would contact him about any new funding schemes. It says because of the volume of grant applications and additional workload, it could not contact individual business that might be eligible. It says the Restart Grant was advertised across different media, including the Government’s televised Covid press conferences.
12. The Council published details of its scheme on its website as the Government’s guidance required. I recognise Mr D is unhappy the Council did not contact him direct about the Restart Grant. But there was no requirement for the Council to do this. And there appears to be no corroborating evidence to support Mr D’s claim that the Council had agreed to contact him because of his lack of internet access. Therefore, an investigation would be unlikely to find the Council to be at fault.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr D’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault. And, as the Restart Grant scheme has closed, we cannot achieve the outcome he is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman