Summary: Mrs X complained the Council ignored her request for a business grant causing financial loss and distress. We found the Council at fault. We were satisfied with its apology and grant payment. We recommended it pay Mrs X £300 for distress and uncertainty and £200 for time and trouble. Further, that it act to prevent recurrence.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council did not respond to her applications for a COVID-19 business grant or her contacts about this, causing financial loss and distress.

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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’. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))
4. 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)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I reviewed documents provided by Mrs X and the Council.
7. I gave Mrs X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Principles of good administrative practice

8. In 2018 the Ombudsman published a guidance document setting out the standards we expect from bodies in jurisdiction “Principles of Good Administrative Practice”. We issued an addendum in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; “Good Administrative Practice during the response to Covid-19”. The following points are relevant in this case:
• Be realistic with complainants about the timescale for your response to their complaint.
• Delays and deviation from processes are understandable at this time. Make sure you can explain the reason for any delay to the complainant.

Effective complaint handling

9. In 2020 the Ombudsman published guidance for councils on effective complaint handling, setting out our expectations of councils. This says:
• Making a complaint should be simple, accessible, clear and straightforward. There is no difference between a ‘formal’ and an ‘informal’ complaint. Expressions of dissatisfaction require a response. You should have procedures in place for effectively identifying and accepting a complaint, no matter how it is raised, or with whom.

What happened

10. Mrs X applied to the Council for business grants in March 2021.
11. Mrs X says she chased the Council by phone and email but received no reply or update.
12. Mrs X says on 16 August the Council asked for more information which she provided.
13. On 23 August Mrs X emailed the Council to say she had applied for grants in March 2021 but heard nothing further despite chasing. She asked when she would get an update on its decision.
14. Mrs X chased the Council again in September and October.
15. On 11 October Mrs X asked the Council how to raise a complaint and expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of response to date.
16. On 14 December Mrs X again wrote to the Council, expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of response.
17. In October 2022 Mrs X contacted the Ombudsman.
18. In response to our enquiry the Council told the Ombudsman it had not received or responded to any formal complaint.
19. In response to our further enquiries the Council said:
• It did not progress Mrs X’s application due to oversight.
• It had a significant volume of applications and contacts to deal with.
• On review of the complaint it had now written to Mrs X to apologise. It had also paid her the grants.

Findings

20. I am satisfied Mrs X raised a complaint with the Council and it had chance to respond. Therefore, her complaint is not premature.
21. Mrs X contacted us more than 12 months after her grant application, however she was waiting for the Council to deal with her complaint before approaching us. I therefore consider there is good reason to investigate what happened from March 2021.
22. The Council did not address Mrs X’s requests for a grant. This is fault. I recognise the Council was under pressure however it should have had sufficient monitoring in place to prevent overlooking any application. I will not make a service improvement recommendation as there are no grant schemes currently in place. However, the Council may wish to bear this in mind. I acknowledge the Council has since apologised and paid the grants due. However, Mrs X also suffered distress and uncertainty awaiting the Council’s decision and missed out on the benefit of having the payment sooner. This is injustice.
23. The Council did not respond to Mrs X’s complaints. This is fault. Mrs X spent time chasing the Council and had to bring her complaint to the Ombudsman in order to get a resolution. This is injustice. That the Council did not recognise Mrs X’s contacts as complaints or treat them as such is concerning. I will make a service improvement recommendation to prevent injustice to others in future.

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Agreed action

24. To remedy the injustice above I recommend the Council carry out the following actions:
25. Within one month:
• Pay Mrs X £300 for distress and uncertainty;
• Pay Mrs X £200 for time and trouble;
26. Within three months:
• Ensure it has procedures in place so that its complaints team responds to any expression of dissatisfaction as a complaint.
27. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
28. The Council has accepted my recommendations.

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Final decision

29. I find the Council at fault because it did not address Mrs X’s request for a grant or her complaints. The Council has accepted my recommendations and I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman