Freedom of information response

1.

2. Information in relation to contracts awarded is published online within the Contracts Register. The information dates back to 2019/20, therefore the requested information can be sourced there in respect of school transport services Please see link to the external website: https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/our-contracts/current-contracts

3. This information is commercially sensitive as the information requested relates to individual providers.

4. The transport system does not store historic data regarding routes for the last 3 years, the only information we can provide in relation to routing is based on the current number of routes as at today’s date which is always subject to change.

Section 43 - Commercial Interests

This exemption provides that:

Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).

Definition: A commercial interest relates to a person’s ability to successfully participate in a commercial activity, i.e. the purchase and the sale of goods or services.

Example Section 43 (2): New style reply with Public Interest bullet points.
The Council are of the view that the release of the information in scope of your request would prejudice its own commercial interests and the commercial interests of the other parties involved. The reasons for this have been captured below under the public interest test section.

Public Interest Test:

The Council have considered the public interest test in relation to section 43 (2) in releasing the information in scope of your request. The outcome of this is below.

· Public interest in disclosure:

• It would inform the public of the activities carried out on their behalf and to scrutinise public monies spent

· Public interest to maintain the exemption:

• Disclosure of information would result in other companies that offer similar investments not wanting to work with the Council due to commercially sensitive information being released by the Council with regards to prior investments. This will have a negative impact on the Councils ability to seek suitable investment deals going forward.
• Disclosure of information would have a detrimental impact on the commercial interests of the other parties involved, as this would publically detail commercially sensitive information. This would damage the Investor’s competitive position.
• Disclosure of information would negatively impact the Councils working relationships with its lenders. This will reduce the spend the Council has (commercial interests), which would directly impact the services we are able to provide to our residents.
• Disclosure of information would negatively impact the Councils reputation due to loss of investor confidence in the council.

Based on the above, it is the Council’s view that there is a stronger public interest to engage the exemption for section 43 (2). The key reasons for this is as follows:

• The public would only be interested in this information if their service provision were to reduce and/or stop completely.
• All the time the Council are able to maximise its funds in this way and maintain its service provision, there is no strong public interest in favour of disclosure of this level of detail.

Another example Section 43 (2) New style reply with Public Interest bullet points.

· Public interest in disclosure:

• Accountability for spending of public money. There is a public interest in this generally.
• Where a public authority is purchasing goods/services there is a public interest in ensuring value for money is achieved.

· Public interest to maintain the exemption:

• Public authorities are major purchasers of goods and services and providing a full copy of a contract would be detrimental to the Council, as if the price or details of a contract were disclosed, it would hinder the Councils ability to receive multiple bids for future contracts and/or could limit the variation of bids suppled putting the Council at a disadvantage.
• Companies compete by offering something different from their rivals. That difference could be price/quality/specification. Information that identifies how a company has developed that unique element, is commercially sensitive. For example, where a company competes on price, it may be that the final price charged is readily available, however information disclosing how the company is able to offer the product at that price may not be.
• Companies should be able to compete fairly on a level playing field. If the details of a previous contract are publicly available then this would put the current contractor at a commercial disadvantage.

Based on the above, it is the Council’s view that there is a stronger public interest to maintain the use of the exemption for section 43 (2)

In issuing our response the Council has applied S21 of the Freedom of Information Act.

This means that the information you have requested is already available elsewhere so is therefore exempt from disclosure.