Schools Meals Contingency Report in the event of provider failure.
Reasons for urgency:
School meals are an essential front-line service used by children and young people in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (H&F) which ensures that school aged children eat one nutritionally balanced meal each day. Free school meals are a statutory Local Authority duty.
The incumbent contractor for delivery of school meals in primary schools are Interserve Catering Services Ltd who provide school meals to 34 primary schools. Interserve PLC have recently been placed into a pre-planned administration process. All businesses and assets which sat beneath the plc business were sold to a new entity called Interserve Group Limited, a private company owned 100% by the lenders. H&F contract with Interserve Catering Ltd which now forms part of the Interserve group. Communications from Interserve suggests there is no immediate risk to service delivery and that under the new arrangements the Group is in a stronger financial position. However, this report puts forwards recommendation
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Expenditure/Income over £5m & policies or new income, reserves use, overspend over £300K;
Decision status: No longer a Key Decision
Wards affected: (All Wards);
Notice of proposed decision first published: 18/04/2019
Reason for urgency:
School meals are an essential front-line service used by children and young people in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (H&F) which ensures that school aged children eat one nutritionally balanced meal each day. Free school meals are a statutory Local Authority duty.
The incumbent contractor for delivery of school meals in primary schools are Interserve Catering Services Ltd who provide school meals to 34 primary schools. Interserve PLC have recently been placed into a pre-planned administration process. All businesses and assets which sat beneath the plc business were sold to a new entity called Interserve Group Limited, a private company owned 100% by the lenders. H&F contract with Interserve Catering Ltd which now forms part of the Interserve group. Communications from Interserve suggests there is no immediate risk to service delivery and that under the new arrangements the Group is in a stronger financial position. However, this report puts forwards recommendation
Anticipated restriction: Part exempt - View reasons
Report access: Open report with exempt appendix;
Report Type: Key Decision;
Decision due: 1 May 2019 by Leader of the Council
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Children and Education (expired July 2024)
Lead director: Director Children's Services
Department: Children's Services Department
Contact: Will Parsons Email: Will.Parsons@lbhf.gov.uk Tel: 0776 848 6764.
Reason No Public Access: PART OPEN PART PRIVATE Part of this report is exempt from disclosure on the grounds that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information) under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.