Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council wrongly pursued repayment of a grant. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council wrongly pursued repayment of a Clean Air Grant when it found out he had registered his business out of the area. Mr X says he did not breach the legal contract.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
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 (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. Mr X’s application for a Clean Air Grant was agreed by the Council in 2022.
8. The Council invoiced Mr X for the return of the grant money in 2023 following some due diligence checks. The Council said Mr X did not comply with the terms of the grant when he registered his business out of the area. The Council wrote again to Mr X in 2024 to inform him that he had to repay the grant.
9. We normally expect people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem. Mr X has been aware of the Council’s decision that he did not comply with the terms of the grant since 2023 but did not complain to the Ombudsman until 2025. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I have considered whether to exercise our discretion to investigate the complaint, but I have seen no good reasons to do so.
10. Even if we were to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint, we would not investigate. The courts are best placed to consider legal disputes, and the grant agreement specifically requires all disputes to be considered by the court.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council wrongly pursued repayment of a grant. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman