Summary: Mr X complains about how the Council dealt with his applications for business grants saying there has been delay and the Council made the process difficult for him. Mr X feels the Council has racially discriminated against him and he has been caused emotional distress by this. The Ombudsman will not investigate as the Council has paid one grant to Mr X and we cannot add to this. Mr X’s complaint about two earlier grant applications is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council dealt with his applications for business grants.

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 or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we will find fault causing significant injustice, or it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and background information the Council sent to me. I have considered the comments Mr X made in response to my draft decision, which I sent to him.

Back to top

What I found

5. Mr X applied for business start- up and vacant shop grants in 2017. The Council considered these and refused Mr X’s applications in December 2017. The Council says Mr X did not complain to it about these decisions.
6. Mr X complained to us in July 2020 and says he did not complain to us sooner as the Council did not advise him of the complaint’s procedure. Mr X also says that as his complaint is about something that took place in the last six years, we should investigate. Mr X complains the Council gave the grants to other businesses and that this has caused him financial loss and his mental health has been affected.
7. On 24 March 2020, Mr X contacted the Council about the business support grant payable to some businesses because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Council says there followed an exchange of emails between it and Mr X, including about how it was processing grant applications and instructions to Mr X about how to apply. The Council paid the grant to Mr X on 21 April 2020.
8. Mr X complains the Council made this process difficult for him and delayed in providing the grant. Mr X says this caused him distress.
9. Mr X feels the Council has racially discriminated against him.

Analysis

10. The Council’s decision on Mr X’s first grant applications was over two years ago. We would have expected Mr X to complain to the Council about its refusal and then to complain to us, within a year of that refusal.
11. While Mr X says the Council did not advise him of its complaint’s procedure, I do not consider this provides grounds for us to investigate now. Information about how to complain to the Council and the Ombudsman is readily available from various sources. We would have expected Mr X as a business owner to pursue these matters in a timely fashion. I consider therefore that it is reasonable to have expected Mr X to complain to the Council and to have then brought his complaint to us, sooner.
12. The law says we should only investigate complaints brought to us within a year of the person complaining knowing about the problem. I cannot see good reasons for us to investigate this late complaint now.
13. From the information I have seen, it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council in how it dealt with Mr X’s business support grant application. Additionally, the Council made payment of the grant within one month of Mr X’s first contact with it. While Mr X may have found the process difficult, I do not consider that the injustice he claims is sufficient to warrant our involvement.
14. I have seen no indication that the Council’s dealings with Mr X were affected by his race.

Back to top

Final decision

15. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Mr X is not caused a significant level of injustice in relation to his business support grant application and the grant has been paid. Mr X’s complaint about two earlier grant applications is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman