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'Government Hospitality Cellar stock list'.
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DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES SECTION: DO NOT MODIFY TEXT BELOW
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Subject: FOI GOVERNMENT HOSPITALITY WINE CELLAR
DocumentStyle: Normal
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FolderReference: //2008
CreatedBy: PDOMX:ralexander
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DocumentDate: 15 May 2008
SysDocumentDate: 15/05/2008
FromInd: Robert Alexander
FromOrg: GH: Protocol
ToInd: Mr Alex Skene
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DocumentStatus: STORED AS PRIVATE
FolderReferenceType: POLICY FOLDER
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES SECTION: DO NOT MODIFY TEXT ABOVE
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GOVERNMENT HOSPITALITY
LANCASTER HOUSE, ST JAMES'S, LONDON SW1A 1BB
TELEPHONE : 020-7008 8517
FACSIMILE : 020-7008 8526
15th May 2008
Our ref: FOI 0354-08
Mr Alex Skene
Dear Mr Skene ,
Freedom of Information Request
I am writing ab[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008
][Author ID1: at Wed May 14 16:16:00 2008
]about[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008
]regarding[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008
] your request for information, which I received on 22 nd[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008
] [Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008
]April 2008[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008
]. In that request you asked us for details of the current stock list of the Government Hospitality cellar at Lancaster House and details of the most recent additions to the cellar in 2008.
Your request has been forwarded to me, as Head of Government Hospitality (GH), the section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for organising official ministerial hospitality within the UK, and the management of the Government Hospitality wine cellar. I am also the Secretary to the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine (GHAC[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008 ]PW)[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:29:00 2008 ], the non-departmental public body (NDPB) that guides GH in its purchasing decisions.
Whilst I regret that I am unable to release details of the stock list to you, for the reasons given below, I can give you an indication of the types of wines that Government Hospitality has bought so far in 2008.[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:30:00 2008
]
To date in 2008 the GHAC[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:30:00 2008
]PW [Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:30:00 2008
]hasThis year, Government Hospitality has been[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:30:00 2008
] advised by[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:30:00 2008
]the Committee [Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:31:00 2008
]to [Author ID3: at Wed May 14 13:49:00 2008
]add to our stock by[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:31:00 2008
][Author ID3: at Wed May 14 13:49:00 2008
] [Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:31:00 2008
]purchasing[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:31:00 2008
]e[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:31:00 2008
] a limited range of 2005 Red Burgundy wines, 2006 White Burgundy wines, Non-Vintage Champagnes and some White Loire wines of both the 2006 and 2007 vintage.
Information detailing our current stock lists[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:32:00 2008
] is exempt under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Ac[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:34:00 2008
]t 2000.The remainder of the information that falls within the terms of your request is exempt from the right of access under the Act under Section 43 - Commercial Interests.[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:35:00 2008
] Section 43, which covers Commercial Interests[Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:36:00 2008
], of the Freedom of Information Act [Author ID2: at Wed May 14 13:36:00 2008
]provides that:
"2. 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). The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section 1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, prejudice the interests mentioned in subsection (2). "
This exemption requires the application of a public interest test. One of the main factors in favour of release of the information is the public interest in transparency in the expenditure of public funds. Against this is the potential for the commercial interests of suppliers and the public authority to be damaged.
Reasons why public interest favours withholding information include :
Disclosure is likely to impact on commercial interests of suppliers to GH, to whom some price discounting is offered. Releasing stock and pricing details of small-scale sales to GH in the highly volatile London wine market is very likely to be picked up on by other customers, resulting in un-due pressure on the commercial supplier to lower their prices on a wider scale.
In addition, purchases made by the government and made widely known may unduly influence buying patterns in the London and UK market. Both these factors in turn would have a negative impact on the ability of GH to negotiate future price reductions, and could result in lobbying by merchants and producers for inclusion in the cellar, undermining its impartial and professional management.
Comments by tasters included on the stock list can be highly subjective, and their release into the public domain might damage the commercial interests and reputation of certain suppliers and growers.
The information that has been supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder. Most documents supplied by the FCO will have been produced by government officials and will be Crown Copyright. You can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown copyright on the Office of Public Sector Information website at:
Information you receive which is not subject to Crown Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. You must ensure that you gain their permission before reproducing any third party (non-Crown Copyright) information.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to me.
If you are not content with the outcome your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Alexander
Robert M O'D Alexander
Head of Government Hospitality
Protocol Directorate