Adran yr Economi, Gwyddoniaeth a Thrafnidiaeth
Department for Economy, Science and Transport
Your Ref:
Our Ref: ATISN 8451
Graham Warlow
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
12 June, 2014
Dear Mr Warlow
Request for Information – Reference ATISN 8451
I wrote to you on 19 May regarding your request for information. In your request you asked
for all documents and letters relating to the Welsh Government grant of £850K to Guardian
Wealth Management in 2012.
I confirm that we hold information relating to your request, some of which is attached at
Annex B. I have concluded that the remainder of the information is exempt from disclosure
under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Exempt information has
been blanked out if it was on the same page as information I have provided. Full reasoning
for applying this exemption is detailed at Annex A.
If you believe that I have not followed the relevant laws, or you are unhappy with this
response, you may request an internal review by writing to:
Mick McGuire, Director, Sectors and Business
Department for Economy, Science and Transport
QED Centre, Treforest Industrial Estate, Treforest, CF37 5YR
xxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
When dealing with any concerns, I will follow the principles set out in the Welsh
Government’s Code of Practice on Complaints which is available on the Internet at
www.wales.gov.uk or by post. You also have the right to complain to the Information
Commissioner. Normally, however, you should pursue the matter through our internal
procedure before you complain to the Information Commissioner. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at:
Canolfan QED Centre
Main Avenue
Ystad Trefforest
/Treforest Industrial
Estate
Pontypridd
xxxxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
CF37 5YR
www.wales.gov.uk
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 745 / Fax: 01625 524 510
Em
ail: xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Also, if you think that there has been maladministration in dealing with your request then
you may make a complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales who can be
contacted at:
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales,
Ffordd yr Hen Gae, Pencoed, Bridgend, CF35 5LJ
Yours sincerely
Jonathan Hughes
Business Development Manager
Annex A
ATISN 8451 – Application for Exemption
Section 43(2)
Section 43(2) states that "Information is exempt 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)".
This exemption is a qualified exemption. I must therefore demonstrate that if the
information were released, the resultant harm to the matters the exemptions are seeking to
protect would be substantial. I must also demonstrate that the public interest in withholding
the information outweighs the public interest in releasing the information.
The exemption is engaged where disclosure would prejudice the legitimate commercial
interests of any party, including the Welsh Government. The intention behind the exemption
is to prevent the disclosure of information that could cause serious harm to the commercial
interest of any individual/organisation that is their ability to successfully participate in a
commercial activity.
For information to be withheld under this exemption it is not sufficient for the information to
be “commercial” in nature, but rather the disclosure of the information would, or would be
likely to, prejudice the ability of that organisation from which it originates to engage in
legitimate commercial activities.
Substantial harm test
We consider that releasing documentation relating to the company’s grant application which
includes highly confidential information and intellectual property, for example the forecasts
of individual grant instalments, targets and full details about the eligible expenditure could
give away sensitive information about the company in question and cause them substantial
harm. The information captured contains cost information, product sales forecast
information, information relating to the financial and business viability of the company and
their Strategic Business Plan, detailing amongst other things, their business ideas and
projects. It also contains ongoing financial reports, information regarding property lease
negotiations and information regarding other legal matters.
Public Interest Test
The general intention of the Freedom of Information Act is to make information held by a
public authority available to the public and to help them gain a better understand the
decisions made by government. Those in receipt of public money should expect a degree of
public interest and scrutiny in how that money is to be, or has been, used to meet a strong
public interest in seeing that government gets the best value from the public purse.
The disclosure of the information caught by this request, which as stated above includes,
highly confidential information, for example the forecasts of individual grant instalments and
full details about the eligible expenditure could give away sensitive information about the
company in question. The information also contains cost information, product sales forecast
information, information relating to the financial and business viability of the company and
their Strategic Business Plan detailing amongst other things their business ideas and
projects.
The company’s concern and ours is that if this information was released into the public
domain it would have a detrimental impact on the company in question. The release of
information at this time would be of interest to any commercial competitor and would
disadvantage the company in terms of tendering for future work and weaken their position in
a competitive market. If we were to put into the public domain details of any special
conditions of grant this would provide those competitors with sufficient information to identify
certain aspects of the company’s financial position and this would, we believe, result in
substantial harm to their future viability. It is not in the public interest that the Welsh
Government should put any business at a competitive disadvantage.
In conclusion, we believe that the balance of the public interest therefore falls in favour of
withholding this information.
Document Outline
