Dear Ms Damon

I can confirm receipt of the request below, dated 22 August 2019. 

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days.  As such, you should expect to hear from the University in response by 20 September 2019, if, in the meantime, you have any queries about the request, please don’t hesitate to contact me.   

Kind regards

Tracey Crombie
PA to the Legal Adviser
University of Leeds
LS2 9JT
Tel:  0113 343 4078 (NB 8am-4pm)
Fax:  0113 343 3925

This communication is intended solely for the addressee, is strictly confidential and may also be legally privileged.  If you are not the addressee please do not read, print, re-transmit, store or act in reliance on it or any attachments.  Instead, please contact Tracey Crombie on the above telephone number.

Any liability (in negligence or otherwise) arising from any third party acting, or refraining from acting, on any information contained in this email is excluded.

It is the responsibility of the receiver of this email to ensure that any onward transmission or use of this email (including attachments) will not adversely affect their systems or data contained on their systems.  Receivers are advised to carry out virus checks.  The University of Leeds accepts no responsibility with regard to the communication or other use of this email.

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Dear Ms Damon

Further to your FOI request, please see below:-

A) How much was spent per month 1st July 2017 - 31st July 2019 on PR
firms?

The only spend during this time period by Media Relations on PR companies
was £3480 in September 2017.

B) What firms did you employ in this period and what were the terms of
service? Please include any special projects or issues they worked on.

The service was used during a period when the University’s media team
needed cover because of staff absence. It was used for promotion of
research expertise and findings in the media.  However, the above relates
to only one contract and the commercial terms of the contract are
confidential and therefore exempt under Section 43 of the FOI Act. If the
University were to breach its contract terms it would jeopardise its
ability to work with this and other suppliers.  This would seriously
inhibit our ability to get the best value for money.  As we are, to a
large extent, publicly funded, and our purchasing policies already
demonstrate our financial and governance probity, I am persuaded that the
public interest lies in withholding this level of detail.  I am also
concerned that, the release of information explicitly identified as
confidential by our supplier could leave the University open to action for
breach of contract and the information could, therefore, also be exempt
under Section 41.

C) Between 1st July 2017 - 31st July 2019 did you ever employ a PR firm
specifically for 'crisis management'. If so who did you employ, how much
were they paid and what issue were they addressing?

No

I hope this is helpful in resolving your query. If you have any questions
about this email, however, please don't hesitate to contact me.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you should write to or email directly Mr D Wardle, Deputy Secretary, The
University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT ([1][email address]). You
should do so within 40 working days of receiving the University’s response
to your request. Further information about how the University manages
Freedom of Information requests and about our complaints procedure is also
available on our website ([2]www.leeds.ac.uk).

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.  Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have
exhausted the review/complaints procedure provided by the University.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:  Information Commissioner’s
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Best wishes,

Tracey Crombie
PA to the Legal Adviser
University of Leeds
LS2 9JT
Tel:  0113 343 4078 (NB 8am-4pm)
Fax:  0113 343 3925

This communication is intended solely for the addressee, is strictly
confidential and may also be legally privileged.  If you are not the
addressee please do not read, print, re-transmit, store or act in reliance
on it or any attachments.  Instead, please contact Tracey Crombie on the
above telephone number.

Any liability (in negligence or otherwise) arising from any third party
acting, or refraining from acting, on any information contained in this
email is excluded.

It is the responsibility of the receiver of this email to ensure that any
onward transmission or use of this email (including attachments) will not
adversely affect their systems or data contained on their systems. 
Receivers are advised to carry out virus checks.  The University of Leeds
accepts no responsibility with regard to the communication or other use of
this email.

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