Our Reference: FOI000446
BY EMAIL ONLY
26 March 2015
Dear Ms Giggins
Request for Information Thank you for your email dated 11 February 2015 requesting information on Sovereign
Housing’s application for funding for North View Heights. For ease of reference your request
is below:
Please could you supply redacted copies of Sovereign Housing's grant applications for the
redevelopment of North View Heights in Hungerford, West Berkshire.
I understand from the internal review of a previous request that two applications have been made.
One in June 2014 which was unsuccessful and another sometime after October 22nd which was
still under consideration as at the time I made that request.
I would also appreciate redacted copies/screen shots of the information held on your IMS system
with regard to this property/redevelopment, and if possible within the time limits of the Acts, copies
of any internal and external correspondence (redacted as appropriate) relating to the bids. If you
feel that the latter cannot be retrieved within the time limits of the Acts (FOI & EIR) please provide
me with advice & assistance to refine my request.
We can confirm that we hold the two bids submitted by Sovereign Housing relating to North
View Heights as described in your request above. Please note that bids are submitted by
the third party through the IMS system so the screen shots we have provided to you make
up the bids.
We have considered both bids and whilst we are able to make some information available to
you we have determined that parts of the bids are exempt from disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
(EIR).
Successful bid
The successful bid falls under EIR and the withheld information, if disclosed, would
adversely affect the interests of Sovereign Housing, therefor engaging Regulation 12(5)(f) of
the EIR.
Homes and Communities Agency
Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
0300 1234 500
homesandcommunities.co.uk
Regulation 12(5)(f) – Adverse effect to the person supplying information .
A public authority may refuse information to the extent that its disclosure would adversely
affect the interests of the person who provided that information where that person:
i.
was not under, and could not have been put under, any legal obligation to supply it
to that or any other public authority;
ii.
did not supply it in circumstances such that that or any other public authority is
entitled apart from these Regulations to disclose it; and
iii.
has not consented to its disclosure
The requested information fulfils all three criteria above but in the interest of being clear as
to why this exception is engaged we have provided you with the reasons below.
Was the information supplied on a voluntary basis?
Sovereign Housing was under no legal obligation to supply total scheme costs to the HCA
in order to apply for funding. The HCA would not have the right to require Sovereign
Housing to provide such information using any of its statutory powers, or in order to fulfil
our objectives as an Agency, so it was therefore provided on a voluntary basis.
Is the HCA entitled to disclose the information other than under the
Regulations?
As part the grant application process there is an expectation that information would not be
disclosed more widely than those considering the bids. Therefore the information would
not be disclosed other than in response to a request under the EIR or FOIA.
Did the developer consent to the disclosure of the information?
The HCA has consulted with Sovereign Housing in regards to whether the information
could be disclosed and they have confirmed they do not consent to this. Therefore
this criterion has also been met.
How would disclosure adversely affect DCLG’s interests?
Disclosure of information regarding the scheme costs into the public domain would
affect Sovereign 's ability to negotiate competitive commercial terms with developers
where similar schemes are under negotiation by giving a clear indication of the
development costs that Sovereign is willing to incur in relation to such developments .
Sovereign is involved in a rolling programme that involves similar residential
developments and disclosure of the scheme costs for a specific element of the North
View Heights development would undermine Sovereign 's bargaining position in
relation to the development of such schemes .
All EIR exceptions are subject to a Public Interest test in order to determine whether the
exception is maintained. However, as many of the arguments for both the EIR exception
and the FOIA exemption are the same we have avoided repetition by summarising the
Public Interest test factors below.
Homes and Communities Agency
Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
0300 1234 500
homesandcommunities.co.uk
Unsuccessful bid
The HCA determines that the unsuccessful bid falls under FOIA as the outcome has not,
and will not; effect the state of the environment and disclosure of the withheld information
would cause commercial harm to Sovereign Housing. Therefore Section 43(2) of FOIA is
engaged.
Section 43(2) – Prejudice to commercial interests Section 43(2) of the Act permits a public authority to withhold information where disclosure
“would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any party”, including the
public authority holding the information. We have identified certain information which, if
released, could have the potential to prejudice the commercial interests of Sovereign
Housing by diminishing their opportunity to negotiate in the market place whether with the
Homes and Communities Agency or with other developers.
Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption, which means that before we can withhold
information we must firstly consider the public interest in the disclosure. We can confirm
that we have given careful consideration to the disclosure of this information, and identified
the following factors as relevant in relation to the unsuccessful and successful bids.
Public Interest Test – Factors in favour of disclosure
Disclosure of the requested information would help demonstrate HCA’s commitment to the
principles of transparency and accountability.
Disclosing information helps further the public scrutiny of the activities and management of
the HCA. This helps to serve the public interest by enabling interested individuals to be fully
empowered of all the facts when considering the activities of HCA.
There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring that public authorities are operating
effectively and in line with their organisational objectives, and that they are obtaining the
maximum value for money for the public purse. This can be served by promoting
transparency in the disclosure of any information which relates to the Agency’s decision
making and spending activities.
Public Interest Test – Factors in favour of non-disclosure
As no public money has been invested in the unsuccessful bid there is a weaker public
interest in favour of disclosure. Disclosure of the information in both bids could harm
Sovereign’s commercial advantage in the marketplace as it would reveal to the world at
large what they may be willing to spend on a development with the HCA.
It would not be in the public interest to harm Sovereign’s commercial interest in this way as
it may affect the HCA’s ability to work with them. This in turn may affect HCA’s and
Sovereign’s ability to carry out their operational objectives of delivering projects on time and
for best value for money.
Sovereign would not expect their unsuccessful bid to be disclosed as a result of a request
for information. It would not be fair Sovereign to identify why their bid did not meet the
conditions of the application for funding
Homes and Communities Agency
Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
0300 1234 500
homesandcommunities.co.uk
Conclusion
Whilst we recognise that there is a legitimate public interest in the disclosure of any official
information, such disclosure needs to be considered in line with the potential harm which
may be caused by its release. We have therefore determined in this case that the public
interest in favour of withholding the specified information falls in line of non-disclosure at
this time. We would stress that the public interest is continually changing and that whilst we
are unable to release this information at this time, we may be able to reconsider its
disclosure in the future.
If you have any questions regarding this response or any further queries you can contact us
at the following addresses and quote your unique reference number found at the top of this
letter:
Email: xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
Mail: Information Access Officer
Homes and Communities Agency
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
If you are unhappy with the way Homes and Communities Agency has handled your request
you may ask for an internal review. You should contact
Head of Legal Services
Homes and Communities Agency
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can
be contacted at
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely
Naomi McMaster
Information Access Officer
Homes and Communities Agency
Homes and Communities Agency
Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
0300 1234 500
homesandcommunities.co.uk
Homes and Communities Agency
Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
0300 1234 500
homesandcommunities.co.uk