Costs and subsidies of primary school meals (FOI)

​​Request

A

Please provide the information held about how much the Government of Jersey is paying to the UK company Apetito, for primary school meals.

Please provide details of the number and type of meals purchased or provided by Apetito, including the cost per meal and the total amount spent in 2023 and 2024 to date on these meals.

B

Please provide information held in relation to whether the Government of Jersey are subsidising these primary school meals or whether the customer, for example parents, are paying the full cost of the meal, at no cost to the taxpayer.

C

If the Government of Jersey are subsidising these meals, please provide details of the value of the subsidy per unit, that is to say percentage subsidised, and the total cost to the Government of Jersey for subsidising the meals in 2023 and 2024 to date.

Response

A

It has been determined that the contract cost would be exempt under Article 33(b) (Commercial Interests) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as details of the contract are considered commercially sensitive.

There is a three-week menu cycle with three meal options per day. The meals provided are uncooked and frozen. Meals are supplied in recyclable multi-portion trays, three main meal options and two dessert options are available daily, an allergen-free range is also available for those that require. 

It is not possible to provide the total number of meals provided by Apetito as this varies daily, by school, by year group and by class and is not held in a reportable format; therefore Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

​Information about the types of meals provided can be found on their website. Please see the link below: 

Schools_Simplicity_Guide.pdf (apetito.co.uk)​

B

There is a 100% subsidy for pupils meeting the eligibility criteria for free school meals. The price of parental contribution is capped for all other pupils receiving meals at £2.50. 

C

The total cost to the Government of Jersey for subsidising meals for this year to August 2024 is £795,000. For the fiscal year 2023 (excluding the costs associated with building and fitting out serveries in schools) the total was £592,000.

This information cannot be broken down by unit as this information is not held in a reportable format, therefore Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Articles Applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public Interest Test 

Article 33 (b) is a prejudice-based exemption. That means that in order to engage this exemption there must be a likelihood that disclosure would cause prejudice to the interest that the exemption protects. In addition, this is a qualified exemption and consideration must be given to the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) considers that providing information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Government of Jersey and / or third parties. There may be public interest in the commercial information, however it was considered that this is outweighed by the potential for commercial and or financial damage.​​