How much is Milton Keynes Council paying Ascendant Solutions Limited/GrantApproval.co.uk/Apply4.Online for its involvement in processing claims under the £150 Energy Rebate Payment Scheme?

The request was partially successful.

Robert Bluffield

Dear Milton Keynes Council,

I wish to request the following information under the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000.

1) Since applying for a rebate under the £150 Energy Rebate Payment Scheme, I have been contacted by a company known as ASCENDANT SOLUTIONS LIMITED that also trades under GrantApproval.co.uk and Apply4.Online, who claim to be handling requests on behalf of Milton Keynes Council and others nationwide. Can you verify this is accurate?

2) Can you advise as to how much is being paid to ASCENDANT SOLUTIONS LIMITED and its other companies named above in relation to the services it is providing under the £150 Energy Rebate Payment Scheme?

3) Can you please tell me the extent of the work ASCENDANT SOLUTIONS LIMITED and its companies are carrying out on behalf of the Council under the £150 Energy Rebate Payment Scheme?

4) Can you please advise me as to why the Council has deemed it necessary to hire an external contractor to undertake work for the £150 Energy Rebate Scheme when it would have been simpler and cheaper for Council Taxpayers to have deducted the rebate at source?

I trust that you will be able to furnish me with the information I have requested in a timely and efficient manner.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Bluffield

Freedom of Information Team, Milton Keynes Council

1 Attachment

Reference: FOI-423626576
Date of request: 20/05/2022
Title of request: Council Tax Rebate

Dear Robert Bluffield ,

Thank you for your request for information. Your request is being
considered and you will receive the information requested within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days.

In the event that the information cannot be released you will be advised
within 20 working days, including your rights of appeal.

Best Regards

Freedom of Information Team

Any personal data will be processed in line with the Data Protection legislation, further details at https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/privacy

This email and any attachments hereto are strictly confidential and intended solely for the addressee. It may contain information which is privileged. If you are not the intended addressee, you must not disclose, forward, copy or take any action in reliance of this email or attachments. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify us as soon as possible.

The anti-virus software used by Milton Keynes Council is updated regularly in an effort to minimise the possibility of viruses infecting our systems. However, you should be aware that there is no absolute guarantee that any files attached to this email are virus free.

Freedom of Information Team, Milton Keynes Council

Reference: FOI-423626576
Date of request: 13/05/2022
Title of request: Council Tax Rebate
Information request:

Dear Milton Keynes Council,

I wish to request the following information under the FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT 2000.

 

1) Since applying for a rebate under the £150 Energy Rebate Payment
Scheme, I have been contacted by a company known as ASCENDANT SOLUTIONS
LIMITED that also trades under GrantApproval.co.uk and Apply4.Online, who
claim to be handling requests on behalf of Milton Keynes Council and
others nationwide. Can you verify this is accurate?

2) Can you advise as to how much is being paid to ASCENDANT SOLUTIONS
LIMITED and its other companies named above in relation to the services it
is providing under the £150 Energy Rebate Payment Scheme?

3) Can you please tell me the extent of the work ASCENDANT SOLUTIONS
LIMITED and its companies are carrying out on behalf of the Council under
the £150 Energy Rebate Payment Scheme?

4) Can you please advise me as to why the Council has deemed it necessary
to hire an external contractor to undertake work for the £150 Energy
Rebate Scheme when it would have been simpler and cheaper for Council
Taxpayers to have deducted the rebate at source?

I trust that you will be able to furnish me with the information I have
requested in a timely and efficient manner.

 

Yours faithfully,

Robert Bluffield

 

show quoted sections

Milton Keynes City Council left an annotation ()

Response is shown in "quoted sections"

Robert Bluffield

Dear Freedom of Information Team,
Milton Keynes Council, despite acknowledging my FOI request, has not made any further contact with me and therefore has failed in its duty to provide the information requested within the allotted time frame.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Bluffield

Freedom of Information Act, Milton Keynes Council

1 Attachment

Dear Robert

 

Thank you for your email.

 

The Council has not failed in its duty to respond to you within the
prescribed timeframe. Our records show a response was issued to you on 13
June 2022 (which also takes into account the extended Platinum Jubilee
public holiday).

 

I draw your attention to the following statement on Milton Keynes
Council’s page on WhatDoTheyKnow.com:

 

“Note - February 2022: The formatting of responses from Milton Keynes
Council is such that it may be necessary to click "show quoted sections"
to reveal the substance of the response. The system being used by the
council appears to not be working well with WhatDoTheyKnow. Hopefully we
at WhatDoTheyKnow or the Council will address this shortly.”

 

For the avoidance of doubt, the response was also published on the
Council’s [1]FOI Disclosure Log (URL:
https://mycouncil.milton-keynes.gov.uk/e...)
on 13 June 2022 and can be found by searching ‘rebate’.

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

 

Dave Finlow

Corporate Information Officer

Information Governance

 

 

Milton Keynes Council | Civic | 1 Saxon Gate East | Central Milton Keynes
MK9 3EJ

Email: [2][email address]

[3]www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/foi

 

show quoted sections