This is just one of the cases that has been in the VAT arena dealing with the treatment of leisure services by local authorities across the UK. Other cases are running in Scotland and Northern Ireland but they all focus on the question of whether a council can regard this provision as non-business and therefore outside the scope of VAT. The value of this interpretation for local councils is that due to the VAT regime they operate under they are able to recover all their VAT costs incurred in connection with their non-business activities. Getting non-business treatment confirmed is therefore a real benefit to local authorities in managing their VAT recovery position.
Source: centurionvat.com
