Blacon Pointer Agreement

RE: Your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Case Reference: RFI 3236

Dear Mark Smith

Thank you for your information request.

Council services continue to be under significant pressure as we respond to the ongoing pandemic. As a result we are not always able to meet our deadlines for requests for information as quickly as we normally would. Please bear with us whilst we action your request as soon as we can, and we hope to get a response to you soon.

If you decide that you do not want to continue with your request under the current circumstances, please let us know at: [Cheshire West and Chester Council request email]

Yours sincerely

Disclosures Team
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Tel: 0300 123 8 123
Email: [email address]
Location: Cheshire West and Chester Council, 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port CH65 0BE
Visit: cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

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Dear Mark Smith,

Thank you for your request for information of 1 November 2020 which has
been logged as RFI 3236 and has been dealt with under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. We confirm that Cheshire West and Chester Council
does hold information relating to your request.

For the purpose of clarity your request has been reproduced below:

Please can I have a copy of the current Blacon Pointer Bus Partnership
documents.

Please can I also ask who is responsible in the council for overseeing the
bus partnership and who should be contacted with complaints about the
partnership (IE the partnership not working to provide a high quality
service).

Response

We can provide details over who can be contacted regarding complaints,
this is Council official Sean Traynor
[1][email address]

The Council considers that information relating to the release of
documents about the Blacon Pointer Bus Partnership is exempt for release
under Section 43(2) as disclosure of this would likely prejudice the
commercial interests of the Council and bus partners.

Section 43 is subject to a public interest test which is outlined below;

Section 43 is a qualified exemption and is subject to the public interest
test. Where the Council is satisfied that the information requested, if
released, would prejudice or is likely to prejudice someone's commercial
interests, the Council can only refuse to provide the information if it is
satisfied that the public interest in withholding the information
outweighs the public interest in disclosing it. The bias is in favour of
disclosure.

The Council’s bus service partners provide a service where there is an
expectation that the contract and other documentation surrounding this are
held in confidence when operating in a competitive market. If the
information is disclosed, there is a significant and likely risk of
prejudice to either the Council or its partners not only financially but
in terms of the methodology and logistics of the content of the contract
when these services are in public view and in the open market.

Cheshire West & Chester does not have internal resource in these specific
matters and seeks services from the competitive market. Disclosure of
pricing of such assets and content  of said contract(s) would be likely to
prejudice the ability of the Council.

The Information Commissioner suggests considering the following factors
when applying the public interest test to this exemption:

a) Does the information relate to, or could it impact on a commercial
activity? Yes the Council and its bus service partners operate in a
commercial market and has to achieve best value from its investments and
contracts and would jeopardise commercial relationships through disclosing
information of this nature.

b) Is that commercial activity conducted in a competitive environment?
Yes. The Council obtains bus services from external bus providers whose
fees and structure of contracts would not be open to release.

c) Would there be damage to reputation or business confidence? Yes release
of the information could prejudice the financial standing of the Council
or its partners when negotiating any future arrangements of this nature
and potentially worse value for money for taxpayers.

d) Whose commercial interests are affected? The Council’s and the bus
partners, as stated above.

e) Is the information commercially sensitive? Yes, the information would
reveal elements of pricing structure and methodology/content of any
contracts

f) What is the likelihood of the prejudice being caused? Disclosure makes
it likely that relationship and contractual procedures will be harmed by
disclosure of such information in future.

In relation to the public interest test the Information Commissioner
suggests recording:

• Public interest factors in favour of maintaining the exemption and the
weight attached to them.

• Public interest factors in favour of disclosure, and the weight attached
to them.

• The outcome of the public interest test. The information can only be
withheld if the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the
public interest in disclosure.

Factors in favour of Factors in
maintaining the favour of
exemption disclosure
Given the Local
competitive nature Government
of the business dealings should
concerned, be open
disclosure would transparent and
enable competitors accessible by
to set their pricing the public in
and use methodology order to obtain
of these contracts the trust of
in a non-independent the community
manner, allowing HIGH
them to use market
sensitive data to
adjust their
approach, costs
and/or pricing. This
would prejudice and
unfairly distort
competition and
pricing in this
market and would be
likely to prejudice
the future
commercial and
financial
arrangements of the
Council as outlined
above. HIGH
Disclosure would be
likely to prejudice
the ability of the
Council to obtain
the best possible
arrangements not
only with monetary
value but also
quality of tender
for the public purse
with future
suppliers by
disclosing of this
information

HIGH
Specific details of
charges relates to
commercially
sensitive
information.
Disclosure of such
information would be
likely to weaken the
Council’s and bus
partners market
position and put
them in a less
advantageous
position in the open
market. HIGH
Release of the
information would
damage confidence in
ability to secure
future contracts as
it would be giving
away key aspects of
our competitive
advantage. HIGH
 

The outcome of the public interest test is that the public interest
factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the public
interest in disclosure. The public interest test is met and disclosure of
this information relating to management fees and documentation that would
reveal methodology about investment plans for Cwac carried out, and  is
refused on these grounds laid out above.

For further information regarding this exemption please follow the link
below to the Government Legislation website:

[2]https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200...

We trust this answers your queries.

The Council considers that your request has been answered in full by
either confirming that information is not held, providing you with the
information requested, or explaining why any information has been withheld
and the reasons for any redaction. Where applicable, the Council has also
told you the reasons for the delay in responding to your request.

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled you can request a review by writing to the Disclosures Team within
40 working days from the date of the Council’s response.

You are entitled to a review by the Council if:

•             You are dissatisfied with the Council’s explanation of why
the application was not dealt with within the 20 working day time limit.

•             All the information requested is not being disclosed and you
have not received an explanation why some information is not being
disclosed.

•             A reason for the disclosures under the request being refused
is not received.

•             You consider that exemptions have been wrongly applied,
and/or

•             You consider that a fee has been wrongly applied.

Please set out your grounds for seeking a review together with what
specific part of your request those grounds apply to and the outcome you
are seeking. The Council reserves the right to ask you for clarification
of the grounds for your review request if the grounds are not clear, and
to delay commencing the review if such grounds are not provided.

The Disclosures Team can be contacted by email via:
[3][Cheshire West and Chester Council request email] or at the following address:

Disclosures Team

Cheshire West and Chester Council

4 Civic Way

Ellesmere Port

CH64 0BE

The Disclosures Team will acknowledge a request for an internal review
within 5 working days and complete the review as soon as possible and no
later than 40 working days from receipt of the request.

More information about the Council’s internal review process can be found
via:

[4]https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.u...

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of your review, you have
a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45

Website: [5]www.ico.org.uk

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely

Disclosures Team – Customer Relations and Information Cheshire West and
Chester Council

Tel: 0300 123 8 123

Email: [6][email address]

Location: Cheshire West and Chester Council, 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port
CH65 0BE

Visit: cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

PD (Ex)

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200...
3. mailto:[Cheshire West and Chester Council request email]
4. https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.u...
5. http://www.ico.org.uk/
6. mailto:[email address]

Dear Mark Smith

Thank you for your email dated 25 November 2020.

Your request for a review has been forwarded to the Customer Relations Manager who will arrange an internal review.

The outcome will be issued within 40 working days which is 20 January 2021.

Yours sincerely

Disclosures Team
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Tel: 0300 123 8 123
Email: [email address]
Location: Cheshire West and Chester Council, 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port CH65 0BE
Visit: cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

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Dear Mark Smith

Re: Request for Information (RFI) - Internal Review Request

Name: Mr Mark Smith  

Case reference: RFI 3236

RFI legislation: Freedom of Information 2000

Request date: 1 November 2020

Statutory due date: 30 November 2020

Response date: 25 November 2020

Internal review request date: 25 November 2020

Internal review request reason: I would like to ask for a review to see
how much of the agreement could be reasonably made public. Given the some
of the old agreement between First and Arriva is already in the public
domain
([1]http://www.buspartnership.com/index.php?...),
I can't see anything which would affect the commercial activities and if
there is anything in the new agreement which does hinder that, I would ask
for that to be retracted and the rest of the document to be released.
 Secondly, the second part of my request has zero impact on the commercial
activities and thus I see no reason as to why this information can not be
given.

You made a request for information to Cheshire West and Chester Council
for the following recorded information:

Pointer Bus Partnership documents.  Please can I also ask who is
responsible in the council for overseeing the bus partnership and who
should be contacted with complaints about the partnership (IE the
partnership not working to provide a high quality service).

On 25 November 2020 you received a response refusing disclosure of the
Pointer Bus Partnership documents using the exemption for ‘commercial
interests’ (Section 43).  The second part of your request for a
responsible / contact officer was answered.

As the Senior Manager responsible for the Disclosures Team, I am writing
to confirm that your request for a review of the response you received has
now been carried out. As part of the review I made further enquiries of
the service, our Legal department and the companies involved in the
partnership. The outcome of the review is that your appeal is partially
upheld.

Your original response did provide contact details for the officer you can
talk to regarding the partnership and any complaint you may have around it
- this was: Council official Sean Traynor
[2][email address]

On further discussion with the Service, our legal department and the
companies involved, it has been confirmed that the document you requested
is already in the public domain.  A further document (variation letter) is
not in the public domain but can be released to you. With regards to the
variation letter, please be advised that this is now out of date, as it
ran until Sept 2020. The service has confirmed a new variation letter is
in development, but due to covid this has been delayed.  Please find both
documents now attached and apologies for not releasing this information to
you during your original request.  This was due to our enquiries not
extending initially to the partner companies.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Review, or you remain
dissatisfied with the way the Council conducted the original request or
the Review, you may complain to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 0856 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45

Website: [3]www.ico.org.uk

Yours sincerely

Michelle du Bock

Customer Relations & Information Governance Senior Manager

Cheshire West and Chester Council

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.buspartnership.com/index.php?...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/