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Approach of HCPC Chair to governance and spending

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Dear Health and Care Professions Council,

I would like to request the following details under FOI:

What recruitment process was followed to recruit Sean Sullivan, transformation lead, what his daily/weekly/monthly rate is, when he started at the HCPC and when his contract ends.

What rates the remaining transformation consultants are on - namely Claire Holt and Gordon Dixon.

I would also like to know if Christine Elliott, Sean Sullivan, Claire Holt or Gordon Dixon have ever work with each other in the past or have any historic business relationships.

Finally I would like to request all correspondence from the HCPC Chair (Christine Elliott) to any all staff distribution lists in the past six months.

Yours faithfully,

Louise James

FOI, Health and Care Professions Council

Dear Ms James

 

Thank you for your email of 20 September 2019, in which you ask for
information in relation to governance and spending.

 

We are treating this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 (FOIA).

 

We will deal with your request as promptly as possible and at the latest,
within 20 working days of receiving it, as required by the FOIA. If you
have any queries about your request please do contact us using this email
address, or the address below.

 

The reference number for your request is FR06396.

 

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information

 

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road

London SE11 4BU

[1]www.hcpc-uk.org

 

To sign up to our e-newsletter, please email [2][email address]

 

Please consider the environment before printing this email

 

Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg.

 

 

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FOI, Health and Care Professions Council

1 Attachment

Our Ref. FR06396

 

 

Dear Ms James

 

Thank you for your email of 20 September 2019, in which you ask for
information in relation to governance and spending.

 

Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).

 

Please find below our response to your questions.

 

What recruitment process was followed to recruit Sean Sullivan,
transformation lead, what his daily/weekly/monthly rate is, when he
started at the HCPC and when his contract ends.

 

Sean Sullivan was appointed on a consultancy basis as an Advisor to
Council. This was a single source procurement tender process which
involved refining a list of possible candidates. Mr Sullivan’s contract
with the HCPC started on 14 June 2019 and the end date is 30 September
2019.

 

We are unable to release details of the rate of this contract as this
information is considered to be commercially sensitive and is exempt from
release by virtue of Section 43(1) and (2) of the FOIA. Furthermore, we
consider that the exemption in Section 22(1) of the FOIA applies as the
total value of the contract is intended for future publication. Further
information on these exemptions is provided below.

 

Section 43

 

Information is exempt from disclosure if it constitutes a trade secret or
if its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the commercial
interests of any person (including the public authority holding it). 

 

We consider that the release of this information would be likely to
prejudice the Health and Care Profession’s (HCPC’s) and Mr Sullivan’s
interests. Release of this information would be likely to prejudice the
future conduct of business by the HCPC as placing this information in the
public domain would put us at an unfair disadvantage when procuring
consultancy work of this kind in the future. Disclosure would enable
future contractors to see the daily/weekly/monthly rate that has been paid
to Mr Sullivan and expect the same rate that has been agreed with Mr
Sullivan or could use this as a starting point in negotiations. This could
lead to the HCPC paying over the market rate for work based on the
contract negotiations with Mr Sullivan.

 

Mr Sullivan provides specialist skills and there are a relatively small
number of consultants/firms that specialise in this work in an
increasingly competitive market. Disclosure of Mr Sullivan’s rate would
likely result in his competitors lowering their rates to make their
offering in competitive bids more attractive. This would put Mr Sullivan
at a significant disadvantage and would be likely to prejudice his ability
to bid for and win new work. Furthermore, Mr Sullivan’s pricing structure
is the source of competitive advantage and is considered by Mr Sullivan to
be a trade secret within the meaning of Section 43(1) of the FOIA. The
daily/weekly/monthly rate that Mr Sullivan charges is not in the public
domain and as such would lead to the possibility of his competitors
undercutting Mr Sullivan resulting in financial harm.

 

Section 22

 

Information is exempt from disclosure if the information is held with a
view to its publication at some future date and the information was
already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request
for information was made.

 

The total value of the contract, as is the case with all contracts that
the HCPC has entered into during a financial year, will be published in
our Annual Report and Accounts.

 

The public interest test must be applied in relation to certain exemptions
under the FOIA. The test requires that the public interest in maintaining
the exemption (refusing to disclose the information) should be weighed
against the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

In this case, the public factor interests in favour of disclosure of Mr
Sullivan’s daily/weekly/monthly rate are that the HCPC would be
transparent and open with regard to the services undertaken by Mr Sullivan
and ensuring that funds are apportioned appropriately when procuring such
services. The factors in favour of withholding this information are that
disclosure would be likely to put the HCPC at a competitive disadvantage
when negotiating future contracts. It may also lead to existing
contractors questioning their rates. Mr Sullivan’s legitimate concerns
that his competitors may undercut him in competitive bids is also a
factor.

 

Having considered all of these factors, we have decided that the public
interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in
disclosing it.

 

What rates the remaining transformation consultants are on - namely Claire
Holt and Gordon Dixon.

 

We consider that this information is exempt from release by virtue of
Section 22(1) of the FOIA as this is information intended for future
publication. This information will be published in our Annual Report and
Accounts for the financial year 2019-20, as the remuneration of our senior
management team is required to be included in our Annual report and
accounts. Further information on this exemption is provided above.

 

I would also like to know if Christine Elliott, Sean Sullivan, Claire Holt
or Gordon Dixon have ever work with each other in the past or have any
historic business relationships.

 

This information is not held by the HCPC.

 

Finally I would like to request all correspondence from the HCPC Chair
(Christine Elliott) to any all staff distribution lists in the past six
months.

 

Please find a copy of these attached. Some documents have been redacted in
relation to non-senior employee names. These employees are not in a public
facing role and we believe that it would not be appropriate to disclose
their names. This information is withheld under Section 40(2) of the FOIA
as it constitutes the personal data of the staff member. Further
information on this exemption is provided below:

 

Section 40

 

The exemption in section 40(2) of the FOIA applies to personal data which
relates to a third party. Disclosure of this information would breach the
principles of data protection set out in Article 5(1) of the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), in particular principle (a) that personal
data should be processed fairly and lawfully.

 

Some information has also been redacted and withheld as we consider that
the exemption in Section 36(2)(c) of the FOIA applies. To enable you to
better understand our decision, I have provided below more information on
this exemption.

 

Section 36

 

The exemption in Section 36(2)(c) applies to information which would
otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the
effective conduct of public affairs.

 

The public interest test does not apply to the exemption in Section 40,
which is an absolute exemption, but must be considered in relation to
Section 36.

 

In this case, the public interest factors in favour of disclosing the
redacted information in the attached document and the other email withheld
under Section 36(2)(c), are that the disclosure would increase
transparency of the all staff communications from the Chair. The factors
in withholding the information are that disclosure in this instance is
likely to prejudice the communication of policy development within the
HCPC which may in turn impair the quality of regulation provided by the
HCPC.

 

Having considered all of these factors, we have decided that the public
interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in
disclosing it.

 

Internal review

 

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request a review by writing to:

 

Governance Department

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House

184 - 186 Kennington Park Road

London

SE11 4BU

 

Email: [1][email address]                                 

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 

Email: [2][email address]                               

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Kind regards

 

Freedom of Information

 

Health and Care Professions Council

Park House, 184 - 186 Kennington Park Road

London SE11 4BU

[3]www.hcpc-uk.org

 

 

Please consider the environment before printing this email

 

Correspondence is welcome in English or Welsh / Gallwch ohebu yn Gymraeg
neu Saesneg.

 

 

 

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Louise James please sign in and let everyone know.