Defence Support Group

The request was refused by Ministry of Defence.

Dear Ministry of Defence,

Please provide the performance reports for the Land Equipment Service Provision & Transformation Contract for the years 16/17 and 17/18.

Kind regards,

Sean Brawley

DES SEC-PolSec LE-JSC-WPNS (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Brawley,

 

Your request has been logged under our reference FOI2018/11000 and the
target date for response is 27^th September 2018.

 

Kind Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat Land Equipment

 

MOD Abbey Wood, #2043 | Maple 0a | Bristol | BS34 8JH

 

[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D1899F.7726EC60

 

[2]Defence Equipment & Support

 

 

References

Visible links
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

DES SEC-PolSec LE-JSC-WPNS (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Brawley,

 

Please find attached a letter regarding your FOI Act request reference
FOI2018/11000.

 

Kind Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat Land Equipment

 

MOD Abbey Wood, #2043 | Maple 0a | Bristol | BS34 8JH

 

[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D1899F.7726EC60

 

[2]Defence Equipment & Support

 

 

References

Visible links
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

DES SEC-PolSec LE-JSC-WPNS (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Brawley,

 

Please find attached the response to your Freedom of Information Act
request reference FOI2018/11000.

 

Kind Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat Land Equipment

 

MOD Abbey Wood, #2043 | Maple 0a | Bristol | BS34 8JH

 

[1]cid:image003.jpg@01D1899F.7726EC60

 

[2]Defence Equipment & Support

 

 

References

Visible links
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

Dear DE&S Policy Secretariat,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Ministry of Defence's handling of my FOI request 'Defence Support Group'.

I would like to request an internal review on the grounds that proper consideration was not given to the public interest of disclosure versus

On the Section 29 decision, firstly, no effort has been made to explain or review how the UK will have its economy damaged by this decision. Indeed, even the fact that it is Babcock as a company (a third party who I doubt has been consulted) which will be impacted by the request is clear only by inference. That the impact on Babcock will be sufficient to cause an economic impact on the UK requires argument and evidence; assertion of reputation damage is not sufficient for a public interest test.

On Section 43 (2), it is not clear that the Ministry has made the required efforts to discuss this with the third party they have used a basis for the exemption, therefore making the decision as it stands insufficient and inappropriate.

Both of the above are public interest tests which require the department to supply reasoned arguments and to the extent possible empirical evidence, as opposed to the approach taken of assertion. It is also the case that "commercially confidential" is not a relevant term. Under the FOI, either the exemption applies or it does not, and it is this which determines if it is exempt from release. Information is not exempt on the basis of any "commercial confidentiality" per se.

In addition, no effort has been taken to consider the public interest in disclosure. There is an extremely strong interest in disclosure in cases of procurement. This is especially the case where a contract has already been awarded, where there is no interference with an ongoing tender process.

There is naturally a strong public interest in the visibility of the use of public funds, and in the case of contact performance there is a particularly strong interest in transparency so the public can see public money is being effectively utilised and delivering value for money. This is especially the case as the fact of transparency and scrutiny is a useful performance driver.

Releasing procurement related data, including performance data, is also key to maintaining public confidence in the process and practice of procurement and in the implementation of contracts. Visibility of performance metrics allows the public and service users to be confident in the conduct and honesty of procurement processes and implementation.

Providing performance information also allows business in the future to understand government contracting and provide better bids and services in the future, and allows the public to see and be confident that policy is being correctly implemented.

It is also inappropriate that the approach has been taken to make a blanket refusal. It is highly unlikely that all elements of performance would merit consideration under the above guidance, and the elements of performance data as returned to the Ministry should be considered separately with the approach being to make the minimum redaction required to meet any exemptions above. It does not appear any effort or consideration has been given to this.

Therefore, on the basis of the failure to consider the strong public interest in release and the failure to properly apply the public interest tests required for the exemptions used I hope you will internally review this case.

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

Kind regards,

Sean Brawley

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

Dear Mr Brawley,

 

Acknowledgement of Request for a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Internal Review

 

We acknowledge receipt of your email below and we can confirm that an
internal review will be conducted of your request for information, our
reference FOI2018/11000.

 

The Department's target for completing internal reviews is 20 working days
from date of receipt and we therefore aim to complete the review and
respond to you by 26 November 2018. While we are working hard to achieve
this, in the interests of providing you with a realistic indication of
when you should expect a response, we should advise that the majority are
currently taking between 20 and 40 working days to complete.

 

The review will involve a full, independent reconsideration of the
handling of the case as well as the final decision.

 

Regards

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

 

 

show quoted sections

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER), Ministry of Defence

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    20181126 Rev Mr S Brawley MOD final internal review of FOI2018 11000.pdf

    283K Download View as HTML

Dear Mr Brawley,

 

Please find attached MOD’s internal review to your request, our reference
FOI2018/11000.

 

Regards

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team