Contract with Metro

The request was partially successful.

Dear Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive,

I would like to know if Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive or any of it subsidies make any money from the Free 'Metro' Newspapers which are available at Tyne and Wear Metro stations.
If this is the case i would appreciate if you could provide me with a breakdown of the money earned over the last 3 years with the amount of money made included in these figures.

Yours faithfully,

Thomas Brewer

Freedom Info, Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive

Dear Thomas,

Thank you for the email in which you requested information under the Freedom of Information Act. In particular you sought information in relation to the 'Metro' newspapers which are available at Tyne and Wear Metro stations. You asked if Nexus or any of its subsidiaries make money from these newspapers and for a breakdown for the last three years.

Nexus has considered the request carefully and considers that the exemption under S43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies. S43 (2) of the FOIA considers that the disclosure of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of Nexus and the current contractor for the supply of the newspapers. On this basis, Nexus would not propose to release the information that has been requested.

It is the view of Nexus that disclosure of this information and its release into the public domain would allow individuals access to information which would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of both Nexus and the contractor - Metro, a division of Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). Agreements and contracts such as this are under constant review and Nexus is in the process of embarking on a tendering exercise in relation to the supply of newspapers on the Tyne and Wear Metro. By releasing this information into the public domain, it could cause prejudice to the current contractor if the information was released into the public domain.

At this point I would like to clarify that Nexus does not consider that you have asked for the information for anything other than your own requirements and its concerns apply solely to the release of the information into the public domain.

In relation to the exemption applied, this exemption from disclosure is a qualified exemption and it is necessary to consider the public interest test which applies in such circumstances. The principle behind FOIA is to release information unless there is a good reason not to. Nexus receives numerous requests for information and on the majority of occasions releases the information. Nexus has weighed the public interest in releasing the information against the public interest in maintaining this exemption, and has considered arguments both in favour of disclosure and non-disclosure. In relation to the release of the information it could be argued that by releasing the information it could drive increased revenues for Nexus by increased competition during tendering processes. In relation to the non-disclosure, Nexus has considered that the release of the information could have a detrimental effect on future procurement processes with organisations reluctant to tender if their commercial bargaining positions were in the public domain. In addition, Nexus is in the process of tendering in relation to this matter and disclosure could have a detrimental effect on the commercial interests of Nexus. Nexus has concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure in this instance.

If you are unhappy with the way that this matter has been handled you have the right to request that the decision be considered internally by Nexus. This review would be carried out by a person independent of the decision to apply an exemption in this case. Please respond to this email if you would like this to take place.

If after pursuing the Nexus internal process you remain dissatisfied you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request for information has been dealt with in accordance with the FOIA.

Contact details for the Information Commissioner are as follows:

Information Commissioner's Officer
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Regards
Michael

Michael Hunt
Administration Manager
 
Nexus, Nexus House, St James' Boulevard, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4AX

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Dear Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive's handling of my FOI request 'Contract with Metro'.
Part one of my request 'Does nexus or any of it subsidiaries make money from any contract' does not fall within the remit of the public interest test and would not therefore qualify under this exemption as would not harm any commercial interests. A breakdown of money made by nexus would also be unlikely to prejudice commercial interests of Nexus either.
The same request has been made to the tube and was released without any fight so therefor there is precedent that it would not cause commercial harm.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Thomas Brewer

Freedom Info, Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive

Dear Mr Brewer,

I have passed this for internal review as requested.

Regards
Michael

Michael Hunt
Administration Manager
 
Nexus, Nexus House, St James' Boulevard, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4AX

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Colin Whittle, Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive

Dear Sir,

 

Your email dated 9th May 2019 14:12 has been forwarded to me as the person
within Nexus responsible for undertaking internal reviews of Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests.

 

I have assumed from your email that you consider that your original
request (dated 08^th April 2019 12:31 ) should have been dealt with as a
two part request, namely;

1)      Do Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus) ‘make
money’ from the free ‘Metro’ newspaper ? and

2)      If so, could Nexus provide a ‘breakdown of the money earned over
the last 3 years’.

 

The email from Michael Hunt ,Administration Manager, dated 09 May 2019
14:03 ,responded to your request by essentially providing a specific
response to the second part of your request-and in doing so (although not
explicitly) also dealt with the first part of your request.

 

However, since your email dated 9^Th May 2019 is specific in nature, this
review will specifically deal with your request as covering the two parts
referred to above.

 

Part one- ‘Does Nexus or any of its subsidiaries make money from any
contract’

 

I can confirm that Nexus have a commercial agreement in place with
Associated Newspapers Limited under which it receives a financial payment
from them (‘makes money’).

 

Part two- ‘breakdown of money earned over the last three years’

 

The original response to your request considered that the exemption under
s43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applied ,concluding that the
‘disclosure of this information would be likely to prejudice the
commercial interest of Nexus and the current contractor’ .Since this
exemption is ‘qualified’ the ‘public interest’ test was then applied and
it was concluded that maintaining the exemption outweighed the public
interest in disclosure. Guidance documentation from the ICO was considered
in making that decision and the rationale behind the decision was
explained in the email 09 May 2019 (referred to above) .

 

In your request for an internal review of the decision you stated that ‘a
breakdown of money made by Nexus would also be unlikely to prejudice
commercial interests of Nexus’ .However, you make no observations on the
rationale outlined in the 09^th May 2019 response ,nor do you make any
detailed submissions as to why you consider the information should be
released.

 

Your response did reference a request you had previously made to ‘the
tube’ but no information is provided in support of that statement.

 

On the basis of the information I have been provided with and I conclude
my review by upholding the original decision made by Mr Hunt.

 

If you remain dissatisfied you have the right to apply to the Information
Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request for information has
been dealt with in accordance with the FOIA.

 

Contact details for the Information Commissioner are as follows:

 

Information Commissioner's Officer

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Regards

 

 

Colin Whittle

Solicitor

Head of Legal

Nexus

St James Boulevard

Newcastle Upon Tyne

Ne1 4ax

Tel 0191-2033239

[1][email address]

 

 

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