The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse his application for business rates relief as there is no evidence of fault in the decision. We will not investigate his complaint about the Council’s demand for payment of his business rates arrears as it has entered into discussions to agree a payment plan and there is nothing more we could achieve.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council wrongly refused his application for expanded retail discount (ERD), which provided relief from business rates for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also complains the Council has demanded payment of £12,500 for unpaid business rates within an unreasonable timeframe.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to refuse Mr X’s application for ERD; this was a government scheme with set criteria and Mr X did not meet them. While Mr X believes the Council could have used its discretion to award the discount the guidance did not allow councils to disapply the criteria and grant the ERD where businesses did not qualify for the scheme.
Mr X did not agree with the Council’s decision and says the Council did not respond to his appeals against it but this was not a reason for him to stop paying his business rates. The fact he took this step meant he built up arrears with the Council, which has an obligation to recover payment. It issued a demand for unpaid business rates totalling £12,500 and while Mr X is unhappy it told him to pay within a week and applied to the magistrates’ court for a liability order it has now entered discussions with him to agree a payment plan without the need to formalise the debt at court. It is unlikely we could achieve anything more for Mr X by investigating the matter further at this time.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision not to grant Mr X ERD and it is unlikely we could achieve anything more for Mr X by investigating the Council’s demands for payment now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman