Why is Wirral Council being charged £49,047.35 a month for VAT on school meals by Edsential Community Interest Company?

Why is Wirral Council being charged £49,047.35 a month for VAT on school meals by Edsential Community Interest Company?

Why is Wirral Council being charged £49,047.35 a month for VAT on school meals by Edsential Community Interest Company?

                                                   

Wirral West Constituency Committee 30th June 2016 Left Cllr Jeff Green Chair Right David Armstrong Assistant Chief Executive
David Armstrong (right) Assistant Chief Executive (a company director of Edsential Community Interest Company) at a recent meeting of the Wirral West Constituency Committee (30th June 2016)

Updated 15#47;8#47;16 following responses by Edsential and Wirral Council

Below is an invoice from Edsential Community Interest Company to Wirral Council for school meals in December 2015 and operation charges from December 2015 to March 2016.

Edsential invoice to Wirral Borough Council 2nd January 2016 Wirral Schools meals and operation charges £404084.10
Edsential invoice to Wirral Borough Council 2nd January 2016 Wirral Schools meals and operation charges £404084.10

I’m puzzled as to why the school meals element for £245,236.75 attracts VAT at 20%, when Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom’s guidance note on VAT on school meals would seem to (at least by my reading) state that school meals (apart from those to staff and visitors) are exempt from VAT.

Therefore I’m puzzled why this element of the bill attracts VAT of £49,047.35, when surely the amount should be different than this (if it was just for staff and visitor meals)?

However Wirral Council’s paid the VAT on the school meals charge from Edsential. This is per a month (and some of December no school meals will be served because of the Christmas holidays), so over the year it means the VAT could be a few hundred thousand?

This is well below the level of materiality or triviality which is why it probably doesn’t get picked up routinely, after all Edsential is a relatively new arrangement.

But when the taxpayer is funding free school meals, what’s the correct tax situation?

Both Wirral Council and Edsential have been in touch since this article was written and their responses are below.

Wirral Council reclaim the VAT back from HMRC and state that no VAT is charged to pupils for school meals, Edsential claim the VAT they charge Wirral Council is correct.

Updated 13/8/16 A reader, h/t to Nigel Draper points out this explanation about how VAT on school catering works from a different local authority.

Updated: 12/8/16 some replies on Twitter state that if Wirral Council was providing these services to schools then the catering services would be exempt from VAT, however the issue of whether schools are exempt from paying VAT on catering services are in related to a limited company owned by two local councils rather than the Wirral Council itself.

Updated 15/8/16:

Ian McGrady (Managing Director) of Edsential has responded with, “As a matter of policy we do not comment on commercially confidential relationships with our customers. However, I can confirm that our management of VAT complies with all HMRC guidance appropriate to our status as a Community Interest Company.”

Peter Molyneux of Wirral Council confirmed that when Metro Catering (an arm of Wirral Council) were providing a school meals service then VAT was not chargeable. Now Wirral Council contract with Edsential, Edsential charge Wirral Council VAT which Wirral Council then claim back from HMRC.

So Wirral Council do pay the VAT, but then claim it back on their monthly VAT return.

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3 different political versions of the same Wirral West Constituency Committee meeting

3 different political versions of the same Wirral West Constituency Committee meeting

3 different political versions of the same Wirral West Constituency Committee meeting

                           

Wirral West Constituency Committee 30th June 2016 Left Cllr Jeff Green Chair Right David Armstrong Assistant Chief Executive
Wirral West Constituency Committee 30th June 2016 Left Cllr Jeff Green Chair Right David Armstrong Assistant Chief Executive

Just for a bit of fun and as it’s Friday, I’m going to offer you three different versions of the Wirral West Constituency Committee yesterday evening (the reports for the meeting can be read on Wirral Council’s website). This is meant partly as satire as there is a Conservative version, a Labour version and the peoples’ version. You can watch video of what happened at the meeting below.

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Playlist of the Wirral West Constituency Committee meeting held on the 30th June 2016

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What were the 6 A4 pages of partially redacted minutes of a Headteachers’/Teachers’ Joint Consultative Committee meeting and the name of a LGA Associate Tutor that Wirral Council disclosed voluntarily in response to a First Tier-Tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) hearing (case number EA/2016/0033) about a Freedom of Information request first made in March 2013?

What were the 6 A4 pages of partially redacted minutes of a Headteachers’/Teachers’ Joint Consultative Committee meeting and the name of a LGA Associate Tutor that Wirral Council disclosed voluntarily in response to a First Tier-Tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) hearing (case number EA/2016/0033) about a Freedom of Information request first made in March 2013?

What were the 6 A4 pages of partially redacted minutes of a Headteachers’/Teachers’ Joint Consultative Committee meeting and the name of a LGA Associate Tutor that Wirral Council disclosed voluntarily in response to a First Tier-Tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) hearing (case number EA/2016/0033) about a Freedom of Information request first made in March 2013?

Liverpool Civil & Family Court, Vernon Street, Liverpool, L2 2BX (the venue for First-Tier Tribunal case EA/2016/0033)
Liverpool Civil & Family Court, Vernon Street, Liverpool, L2 2BX (the venue for First-Tier Tribunal case EA/2016/0033)

I will start by declaring an interest as I was the Appellant in case EA/2016/0033. I am also married to my McKenzie Friend in this matter Mrs Leonora Brace.


Court | Room: Tribunal Room 5, 3rd Floor, Liverpool Civil and Family Court Hearing Centre, 35 Vernon Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L2 2BX

Oral Hearing
On: 16th June 2016
Time: 10.15am

First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber)
Case Ref: EA/2016/0033

Parties
Mr | John Brace (Appellant)
ICO (First Respondent)
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (Second Respondent)

Before:
Mr. David Farrer QC Tribunal Judge
Mr. Michael Hake Tribunal Member
Dr Malcolm Clarke Tribunal Member

Clerk: Clare Adams


Continue reading “What were the 6 A4 pages of partially redacted minutes of a Headteachers’/Teachers’ Joint Consultative Committee meeting and the name of a LGA Associate Tutor that Wirral Council disclosed voluntarily in response to a First Tier-Tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) hearing (case number EA/2016/0033) about a Freedom of Information request first made in March 2013?”

Why after 2 years, 9 months and 13 days have Wirral Council U-turned on refusing a FOI request for minutes of the Safeguarding Reference Group?

Why after 2 years, 9 months and 13 days have Wirral Council U-turned on refusing a FOI request for minutes of the Safeguarding Reference Group?

                                                   

ICO Information Commissioner's Office logo
ICO Information Commissioner’s Office logo

Before I start this epic tale, I would just like to point out that someone has started a petition demanding an apology from the Labour administration at Wirral Council for their answer at the last Council meeting about information requests and their poor record on FOI requests.

A long time ago (29th March 2013), I made this FOI request for the minutes of meetings that happen behind closed doors (not public meetings) for committees that councillors sit on. Part of this request (part 26) was for minutes of the Safeguarding Reference Group.

I think it is better to provide a chronology at this stage as to how this part of the request went (references are to this part of the request).

29th March 2013 FOI request made.
29th April 2013 Internal review requested due to lack of reply.
30th April 2013 Internal review sent by Wirral Council. Request refused on cost grounds (section 12), but offer made to send minutes of Safeguarding Reference Group.
30th April 2013 Clarification over meaning of request sent/internal review as response on 30th April 2013 was first response.
30th July 2013 Internal review changes reason from cost grounds (section 12) to vexatious or repeated request (section 14).
14th August 2013 Decision appealed to Information Commissioner’s Office.
19th June 2014 Wirral Council amends reason for refusal from vexatious or repeated request (section 14) to cost grounds (section 12).
8th September 2014 ICO issue decision notice FS50509081. Decision notice overturns cost grounds (section 12) reason, finds Wirral Council failed to provide advice and assistance (section 16) and hasn’t responded to request within 20 days (section 10(1)). Wirral Council given 35 days to provide information or different reason.
4th November 2014 FOI request for minutes of Safeguarding Reference Group refused on section 40 (personal data) grounds.
12th November 2014 Internal review of 4th November 2014 decision requested.
30th April 2015 After ICO intervention Wirral Council replies. Wirral Council refuses internal review on section 14 (vexatious or repeated request) grounds.
Unknown date Decision appealed to ICO.
29th July 2015 ICO issued second decision notice (FS50569254). Decision notice overturns section 14 (vexatious or repeated request) reason for all of request except adoption/fostering panel part. Finds Wirral Council have breached section 10 (again).
3rd September 2015 Wirral Council respond to decision notice FS50569254. Minutes of Safeguarding Reference Group now refused on section 36 (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) and section 40 (personal data).
7th September 2015 Decision appealed to Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
11th January 2016 Wirral Council supply minutes of Safeguarding Reference Group held on 19th April 2011.

Wouldn’t it have just been easier (as they made the offer to send the minutes of the Safeguarding Reference Group in April 2013) to supply these minutes then? How much officer time was wasted in refusing six pages of minutes on a committee that 7 councillors sat on and at least 5 senior managers (although one wasn’t present for the meeting).

The sixteen page serious case review about Child A, Child B, Child C & Child D referred to in the minutes dated 6th April 2011 can be found on Wirral Council’s website.

Three of the 7 councillors present are no longer councillors and at least three of the senior managers have either gone into early retirement or left Wirral Council.

There are 4 parts in the six pages of minutes where names have been blacked out. Did it really take 2 years, 9 months and nearly a fortnight to do this?

What was the point in spending over 2 years and 9 months refusing this request? The minutes they’ve supplied refer to a further meeting on the 20th July 2011 so although this is welcome, they may not be the right ones! I requested the minutes of the meeting immediately before my request on the 29th March 2013. Is the implication that the incoming minority Labour administration in 2011 scrapped the Safeguarding Reference Group (which was re-established on the 15th December 2014)? I’m not sure!

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What were the top 10 most viewed videos on this blog’s Youtube channel in 2015?

What were the top 10 most viewed videos on this blog’s Youtube channel in 2015?

                                               

Cllr Phil Davies at a recent Cabinet meeting
Cllr Phil Davies at a Cabinet meeting (which makes the list at number 10)

I never expected when I was young, I would end up running a TV channel (albeit only a Youtube channel). So it’s time for a new feature on this blog looking back at the most viewed videos of 2015.

Hopefully in 2016 I will record even better videos than the ones so far. This list is not based on views but watch time (that is how many hours each video has been viewed). I’ll leave a brief comment below as to what each video is about and why it became popular.


1. Liverpool City Council Budget Meeting 4th March 2015 Part 1

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Liverpool City Council Budget Meeting 4th March 2015 Part 1

The annual budget meeting of local councils are known for being the time at which each political party sets what it would do if they were in charge after the elections. This video isn’t popular really for those reasons though.

The blog post Why did Mayor Anderson claim a councillor was "behaving like a child" for highlighting a cut of £42,000 to domestic violence charities? explains better what this meeting became known for (in fact I think it ended up being referred to on the regional TV news).

A councillor called Jake Morrison took exception to a cut to a domestic violence grant to a local charity. The meeting had to be adjourned for a short while. This was because neither the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Erica Kemp nor Mayor Joe Anderson appeared to know how to deal with this sort of sustained objection by a councillor (other than to adjourn the meeting).

The dramatic scenes are towards the end of this clip, which ends when the meeting was adjourned. Words were had behind the scenes during the adjournment.


2. Liverpool City Council 8th April 2015 Part 1 Mayor Joe Anderson responds to green space protestors

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Liverpool City Council 8th April 2015 Part 1 Mayor Joe Anderson responds to green space protestors

The next meeting is also of Liverpool City Council. In the midst of the local and General elections last year it saw a clash between Mayor Anderson and various groups (including an umbrella group) trying to protect green space in Liverpool. Again there’s a linked blog post headlined Mayor Joe Anderson responds to green space protestors "I’ve got news for you, I’m going to stand again [as Mayor]".


3. Liverpool City Council public meeting 11th November 2015 Part 2 of 6

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Liverpool City Council public meeting 11th November 2015 Part 2 of 6

Another more recent meeting of Liverpool City Council also makes the top ten list. This time it was a notice of motion (the earlier few minutes of the notice of motion can be viewed in part 1) about another green space issue (which was to do with Liverpool City Council plans for Beechley Stables, Calder Kids and the Miniature Railway). This was the most well attended meeting of Liverpool City Council I’ve seen by members of the public.


4. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 1 of 4

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Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 1 of 4

To more local political issues than those across the River Mersey, again just before the 2015 elections, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service held a very heated public consultation meeting in Saughall Massie. Hundreds of people turned up to the meeting but couldn’t get in, which may in part explain the high viewing figures on this video.

There are three blog posts about this meeting, Public consultation meeting in Saughall Massie on proposed new fire station (written before the meeting) and Saughall Massie residents ask Wirral Council for reasons why greenbelt site suggested for new fire station and Saughall Massie residents express their opposition to fire station plans at first consultation meeting.


5. Liverpool City Council 16th September 2015 Part 1 of 6

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Liverpool City Council 16th September 2015 Part 1 of 6

Another Liverpool City Council meeting, but instead of green space issues this one was instead (according to Mayor Anderson) about mud. The interest (which there was a lot of media coverage on both locally and nationally) were in the issues in the blog post headlined Mayor Joe Anderson "my good name [has been] dragged through the mud" over £90,000 legal bill for unfair dismissal case.

Indeed on this topic, as recently as the 22nd December 2015, Mayor Anderson (who had just been made Chair of the Combined Authority) refused to answer a question on this topic asked by a member of the public at a public meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.


6. Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee 23rd November 2015

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Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee 23rd November 2015

Finally in 6th place is the first Wirral Council meeting, normally the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee attracts little interest, however the facial expressions of its chair during this meeting attracted many comments and more views of the video of the meeting.


7. Liverpool City Council Budget Meeting 4th March 2015 Part 2

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Liverpool City Council Budget Meeting 4th March 2015 Part 2

Liverpool City Council makes its final entry in the top ten list, with what happened at the Budget meeting after the adjournment (for what happened before the adjournment see the video at number one).


8. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 2 of 4

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Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 2 of 4

This is part 2 of the public consultation meeting of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service held in Saughall Massie on a proposed fire station in Saughall Massie (part 1 makes this list at number 4).


9. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 3 of 4

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Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service consultation meeting Saughall Massie 20th April 2015 Part 3 of 4

Part 3 of the public consultation meeting of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service held in Saughall Massie on a proposed fire station in Saughall Massie (part 1 makes this list at number 4 and part 2 at number 8).


10. Cabinet Wirral Council 12th March 2015

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Cabinet Wirral Council 12th March 2015

Finally, a Wirral Council Cabinet meeting makes the last in this list. In an unusual change of venue it was held at Birkenhead Town Hall.

I can’t remember (nine months later) anything particular that was controversial discussed at this meeting a few weeks before the May elections. The only high-profile issues discussed and decided at this meeting were the "Master Plan Principles" for Birkenhead Town Centre, the outcome of consultation about Pensby High Schools and the nomination for Civic Mayor/Deputy Civic Mayor.

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