Mr Kenyon’s Council V.A.T. and “Corrections” Web Page

You may recall that Hemsworth Town Council created a webpage, at the insistence of Councillor Jean Eccles, when she took exception to some of the reported articles appearing on the Hemsworth Ferret site.

Since that time and numerous articles and contributions appearing on Ferret and elsewhere, the page has seen very little use, in fact so little that Ferret is going to reproduce it here, in full and unedited but divided into the individual “corrections” that it was supposed to highlight.

On looking at the responses, the corrections themselves do not stand up to scrutiny or in many cases do not even offer any correction, but actually follow the same pattern of “none answers” or diversion and deflect that seems to be part of everyday life at Independent Hemsworth Town Council.

So here we go:

“extract from HTC corrections”

Corrections

The purpose of this page is to issue corrections concerning inaccurate and/or misleading statements posted online about council business.

Ferret’s response: So far so good let’s see how long it lasts.

“extract from HTC corrections”

Abuse of Staff

The council has a duty to protect its staff and as such verbal abuse of staff members is not tolerated. If a potential case of abuse is reported, it is investigated, evidence is obtained and legal advice is sought. If the severity of the case warrants it, the council can and, on occasion, has, banned persons from council facilities. Such decisions are based on evidence and are not taken lightly.

Ferret’s response: Ferret agrees that abuse is unacceptable but it’s very strange how this response is limited to abuse on staff by members of the public. It seems to be a glaring omission that abuse to staff or members of the public or other Councillors by Councillors both in person and on the Internet , is not mentioned at all. I wonder why Mr. Kenyon?

“extract from HTC corrections”

Expenditure at the Lakeside flat – clarification

• No plants bought have been bought by the council for the garden at the rear of the café bar.
• Some new carpet was procured due to a sizeable leak through the living room ceiling which resulted in significant water damage, hence the carpet having to be replaced. Both the council (as landlord) and the tenant contributed to the cost of the carpet.
• An ‘Echo Dot’ speaker was purchased but the council (as landlord) was reimbursed by the tenant.
• The redecoration was authorised by the council (as landlord). Some of the work was done by council staff but some of the work was arranged/paid for by the tenant.

Ferret’s response: Very interesting this one and it raises even more questions, as it again tries to divert attention from the real answers needed.

No plants were bought by the Council for the rear garden at the flat, Ferret doesn’t understand why the answer is limited to the rear garden of the flat, were there any houseplants bought Mr Kenyon?

New carpets purchase, Ferret again needs now to ask, what was the tenant contribution either monetary or as a percentage?  Also, importantly wasn’t this covered by Insurance? If not why not?  If a payment was received from the insurance where is this listed in the accounts?

The echo dot purchase on behalf of the tenant, again why? The tenant appears fit and well so why can’t she like the rest of us use the shops or is this a service that extends to the whole staff team and perhaps Councillors and maybe even extend to some of the general public?

The redecoration of the flat, again what percentage or how much money was paid by the tenant? A pound or a penny even? And where is this listed in the accounts also? Also, importantly once again, wasn’t this covered by Insurance? If not why not?  If a payment was received from the insurance where is this listed in the accounts?

“extract from HTC corrections”

Bonfire night – car parking
The car parking on bonfire night was free and as such no charges were made nor was any money collected.

Ferret’s response: Glad to hear this, although it’s not agreed with by some of Ferret’s contributors and very different from when money was collected by the Eccles’ and only following a public outcry a small amount was reimbursed to this community and it was noticeable the car park was not put into use when the main car park was closed for a substantial period for drainage work.

“extract from HTC corrections”

14/12/21 – Dredging/clearing the lakes at Hemsworth Water Park – quotes obtained
The only company from whom the council sought and obtained quotes to dredge/clear the lakes was Ebsford Environmental. They provided a range of quotes from £70,000 to £150,000, dependant on how the dredged mud/sediment was handled (left on site, taken off site or a combination thereof). Needless to say there wasn’t a budget on this scale so the matter was left in abeyance (and then the pandemic started)

Ferret’s response: Ferret will be watching to ensure this contract does go to a bona fide company, after a full and open tendering process is completed.

“extract from HTC corrections”

18/10/21: – Christmas Day and Boxing Day – Lakeside Café Bar

The last time the café bar was open on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day was in 2019 with the takings respectively being £1,592 and £572.

Ferret’s response: again a “none answer to the questions raised”

Value Added Tax – V.A.T.

Now some of these answers have raised concerns with Ferret regarding the purchases and services mentioned by Mr Draper and the payment of Value Added Tax (V.A.T.).

Hemsworth Town Council are in the lucky position unlike you or I, that for most things they purchase, whether goods or services they are able to reclaim the V.A.T. they pay. In simple terms, this means they get a discount on everything which they purchase.

So, this raises a very serious question of potential tax evasion. The V.A.T. that was paid on any services provided to the flat or the tenant of the flat should not have been reclaimed. In fact, they should not have purchased the goods in the first place for the tenant.

So, Hemsworth Town Council; Can you please show us in your accounts where the Tenant’s payments are made to the Council and also confirm or not if insurance claims and V.A.T. payment refunds were made are recorded in the accounts?

Also, what other purchases have been made on council accounts for none council use?

One last point Ferret finds very relevant to this situation, the Hemsworth Town Council’s Website administrator is none other than the tenant of the flat, Samantha Knowles!

Ferret has to wonder who actually wrote these responses or what influence it had on the content of the Council’s web correction page…