Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse Mr X’s application for a COVID-19 business Restart Grant. This is because the complaint is late and I have seen no good reasons to exercise our discretion to investigate it.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council did not give him a business Restart Grant he believes he was entitled to for the period from 1 April 2021. He says his business has suffered financially.

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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/care provider followed the relevant legislation, guidance and our published “Principles of Good Administrative Practice”.
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. The Government offered a Restart Grant to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility for the grant relied, in part, on the business’s premises being on the Valuation Office Agency’s rating list on 1 April 2021.
8. Mr X says his business premises were added to the rating list in March 2021 and he applied for the grant at the time. But the Council says they were added after 1 April 2021 and refused to pay the grant.
9. Mr X complained to the Council in January 2024, almost three years after its decision to refuse his application. He received a response dated 11 April 2024 but he did not refer the matter to us until 4 July 2025; his complaint is therefore some three years late.
10. I have considered whether we should exercise discretion to consider the matter, but I have seen no good reasons to do so. Mr X believes the Council should pay his business money and given the circumstances we would have expected him to complain to the Council and raise the matter with us sooner.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the complaint is late and I have seen no good reasons for the delay in bringing the matter to us.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman