Borrowing from other local authorities

The request was partially successful.

Dear Glasgow City Council,

I am emailing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

My request relates to money borrowed by the council from other local authorities, as detailed by the government’s borrowing and investment live table which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistica...

According to the table, the council’s outstanding borrowing relating to loans (both short and long-term) from other local authorities was £182,000,000 as of Q1 2019/20.

In regards to the above figure, I would like to know:

1. For each individual loan taken by the council:
1.1 The local authority/lender name
1.2 The amount advanced (the initial amount received)
1.3 The outstanding balance
1.4 The interest rate
1.5 The settlement date (the date the loan was agreed)
1.6 The agreed maturity date (the date on which the loan is set to end)
1.7 Brief summary of the purpose of the loan
1.8 Any platform used during the borrowing process (for example iDealTrade.net)

Additionally I would like to know:

2. Who is the council’s treasury advisor(s)?
2.1 When did the treasury advisor(s) named above begin this role?

I would like the responses to question 1 in Excel format with the questions and sub questions as column headings. The response to question 2 can be within the reply to this FOI.

If you need clarification please contact me at this email address. Under your section 16 duty to provide advice and assistance I would expect you to contact me if you find this request unmanageable in any way before the 20th working day.

I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Yours faithfully,

Gareth Davies

Customer Care Centre, Glasgow City Council

New Service Request was submitted: RQST00007096910
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Dickson, John (Revenues), Glasgow City Council

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OFFICIAL

 

 

Financial Services   Corporate Services

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council

Room 10 City Chambers

City Chambers, George Square

Glasgow  G2 Glasgow   G2  1DU

Phone 0141 287 8186 Phone 0141 287 8186

Fax 0141 287 9568 Fax 0141 287 4575

Email: Email
[1][email address] [2][email address]
           
           

 

Date  30 October 2019  

 

Mr Gareth Davies  

 

 

 

Sent by email to:
[FOI #608445 email]

 

 

 

Dear Mr Davies, 

 

Freedom Of Information  Request

 

I refer to your Freedom of Information Request, dated 1 October
2019,wherein you asked that certain information be supplied to you, namely
:-

 

“....the council’s outstanding borrowing relating to loans (both short and
long-term) from other local authorities was £182,000,000 as of Q1 2019/20.

 

In regards to the above figure, I would like to know:

 

1. For each individual loan taken by the council:

1.1 The local authority/lender name

1.2 The amount advanced (the initial amount received)

1.3 The outstanding balance

1.4 The interest rate

1.5 The settlement date (the date the loan was agreed)

1.6 The agreed maturity date (the date on which the loan is set to end)

1.7 Brief summary of the purpose of the loan

1.8 Any platform used during the borrowing process (for example
iDealTrade.net)

 

 

2. Who is the council’s treasury advisor(s)?

2.1 When did the treasury advisor(s) named above begin this role?

 

 

The Council is treating your request as a request under the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

 

With regard to Question 1, on inspecting our records and the information
which we hold, it would appear that some of the information requested is
covered by an exemption or exemptions contained within the Act.  We are
required to explain why we believe this to be the case.

 

The information you have requested relating to the Lender and the Interest
Rates are, in our opinion, exempt from a request under section 1 of the
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 because of an exemption
contained in section 33(1)(b) of the Act. In other words disclosure of the
information would, or would likely to, substantially prejudice the
commercial interests of the Council’s partner organisations.

 

While we believe the exemption contained in section 33(1)(b) applies in
this case, we would still be obliged to release the information in
response to your request unless the public interest in maintaining the
exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Glasgow City Council acknowledges the significant public interest in
openness and transparency and therefore recognises that any request under
section 1 of the Act is potentially in the public interest. The Council
however, considers that the specific public interest in safeguarding the
legitimate commercial interest of the Council and their partners outweighs
the general public interest in openness and transparency. We are therefore
unable to comply fully with this aspect of your request.

 

The information you have requested and which can be provided is detailed
in the attached spreadsheet.

 

 

2. Who is the council’s treasury advisor(s)?

 

Ø  Link Asset Services have been the Council Treasury Advisors for the
last number of years.

 

 

The Council accordingly feels that it has complied with your request.
However, should you be dissatisfied with the way Glasgow City Council has
dealt with your request you are entitled to require the council to review
its decision.  Please note that for a review to take place you must:

 

Lodge a written requirement for a review within 40 working days of the
date of this letter. Include a correspondence address and a description of
the

original request and the reason why you are dissatisfied.

 

Address your request to the :

 

Director of Governance and Solicitor to the Council

Glasgow City Council

City Chambers

George Square

Glasgow G2 1DU

 

Email: [3][email address]

 

You will receive notice of the results of the review within 20 working
days of receipt of your request.  The notice will state the decision
reached by the reviewing officer as well as details of how to appeal to
the Scottish Information Commissioner if you are still dissatisfied with
the Council’s response.  You must request an internal review by the
Council before a complaint can be directed to the Scottish Information
Commissioner.  For your information at this stage, an appeal can be made
to the Scottish Information Commissioner by contacting her office as
follows if you do remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the Council’s
review decision -  

 

Address: Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, KY16 9DS.

Email: [4][email address]

Telephone: 01334 464610

You can also use the Scottish Information Commissioner’s online appeal
service to make an application for a decision:

[5]www.itspublicknowledge.info/appeal

 

Please note that you cannot make an appeal to the Scottish Information
Commissioner until you have first requested an internal review by the
Council.

 

 

If you wish to submit a complaint to the Council in relation to the manner
in which it has handled your request for information then you can do so by
requesting that the Council review its decision. Details of how to request
a review are set out in the above paragraph “Right of Review”.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

John Dickson

Executive Compliance Officer

Financial Services

 

 

OFFICIAL

Glasgow - UK Council of the Year 2015
Disclaimer:
This email is from Glasgow City Council or one of its Arm’s Length
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secure as messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. We
therefore strongly advise you not to email any information which, if
disclosed to someone else, would be likely to cause you distress. If you
have an enquiry of this nature then please write to us using the postal
system. If you choose to email this information to us there can be no
guarantee of privacy. Any email, including its content, may be monitored
and used by the council, or ALEO, for reasons of security and for
monitoring internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. Email
monitoring or blocking software is also used. Please be aware that you
have a responsibility to make sure that any email you write or forward is
within the bounds of the law. Glasgow City Council, or ALEOs, cannot
guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not
been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks.

For further information and to view the council’s Privacy Statement(s),
please click on link below:

[6]www.glasgow.gov.uk/privacy

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Mr Dickson,

Before I submit a request for an internal review, can you be more specific than "for the last number of years" in relation to Link Asset Services?

Yours sincerely,

Gareth Davies

Dickson, John (Revenues), Glasgow City Council

OFFICIAL

Mr Davies,

Regarding your further enquiry, I can confirm Sector Asset Management were the original Treasury Managements Advisors for Glasgow City Council when the Council was formed in 1996.

They then merged with Capita Asset Services who then continued to provide Treasury Management Advice to the Council.

A further merger was then completed in 2017 with Link Asset Services, who are presently continuing to provide Treasury Management Advice to the Council.

I trust the above information is of assistance and clarifies the position

Regards

John Dickson
Senior Disclosure Officer

OFFICIAL

Glasgow - UK Council of the Year 2015
Disclaimer:
This email is from Glasgow City Council or one of its Arm’s Length Organisations (ALEOs). Views expressed in this message do not necessarily reflect those of the council, or ALEO, who will not necessarily be bound by its contents. If you are not the intended recipient of this email (and any attachment), please inform the sender by return email and destroy all copies. Unauthorised access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted. Please be aware that communication by internet email is not secure as messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. We therefore strongly advise you not to email any information which, if disclosed to someone else, would be likely to cause you distress. If you have an enquiry of this nature then please write to us using the postal system. If you choose to email this information to us there can be no guarantee of privacy. Any email, including its content, may be monitored and used by the council, or ALEO, for reasons of security and for monitoring internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. Email monitoring or blocking software is also used. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to make sure that any email you write or forward is within the bounds of the law. Glasgow City Council, or ALEOs, cannot guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks.

For further information and to view the council’s Privacy Statement(s), please click on link below:
www.glasgow.gov.uk/privacy

Dear Glasgow City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Glasgow City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Borrowing from other local authorities' (FOI #608445).

The council withheld the names of the lenders and the interest rates, citing Section 33(1)(b) because "disclosure of the information would, or would likely to, substantially prejudice the commercial interests of the Council’s partner organisations".

I do not believe the exemption has been properly applied and, even if it had, I argue strongly that the public interest in disclosure outweighs that of withholding the information.

Firstly, the council claims disclosure would "substantially prejudice" the commercial interests of the council's "partner organisations" but has provided no explanation as to why. In effect the council has not complied with paragraph 29(ii) of the Scottish Information Commissioners guidance on Section 33 (http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/nmsru...) which requires it to set out "why [the public interest] would be serviced by maintaining the exemption". This gives me little confidence that proper thought and attention has been used in applying this exemption. It also makes it much more difficult to write this request for internal review.

Additionally, I do not believe releasing this information is "likely" to cause substantial prejudice to the council's partners (in this case the lending authorities). I believe this point is a remote or hypothetical possibility, which is not sufficient for the exemption to be applied. This argument is strengthened by the fact the council itself has not explained why the information would be prejudicial.

More importantly, some of those partner organisations have already released this exact information to me under FOI. For example, Edinburgh council told me it loaned Glasgow council £15 million at an interest rate of 0.78% on 24/06/2019 and Leicester told me it loaned Glasgow £5 million, at a rate of 1.15% on 27/11/2019. These local authorities did not believe their commercial interests would be prejudiced by the release of this information. If you would like copies of these FOI responses please let me know.

For the reasons set out above I do not believe the exemption has been properly applied in this case. Even if it had I believe the public interest is in favour of disclosure rather than the hypothetical likelihood of prejudice against the council's partners. My request relates to £182 million of public money at a time when local authority budgets are under unprecedented strain. There has never been a more important time for the public to have a full understanding how their council's finances.

Yours faithfully,

Gareth Davies

Customer Care Centre, Glasgow City Council

New Service Request was submitted: RQST00007126648
You can simply reply to this Email, and your reply
will automatically be associated with this Service Request

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FOI Reviews, Glasgow City Council

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Dear Mr Davies,

 

I refer to your request for a formal review of the decision made in
connection with your Information Request and attach herewith
acknowledgement letter for your information.

 

Regards,

 

FOI Review Team

Glasgow City Council

[1]www.glasgow.gov.uk

 

 

 

 

Glasgow - UK Council of the Year 2015
Disclaimer:
This email is from Glasgow City Council or one of its Arm’s Length
Organisations (ALEOs). Views expressed in this message do not necessarily
reflect those of the council, or ALEO, who will not necessarily be bound
by its contents. If you are not the intended recipient of this email (and
any attachment), please inform the sender by return email and destroy all
copies. Unauthorised access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. Please be aware that communication by internet email is not
secure as messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. We
therefore strongly advise you not to email any information which, if
disclosed to someone else, would be likely to cause you distress. If you
have an enquiry of this nature then please write to us using the postal
system. If you choose to email this information to us there can be no
guarantee of privacy. Any email, including its content, may be monitored
and used by the council, or ALEO, for reasons of security and for
monitoring internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. Email
monitoring or blocking software is also used. Please be aware that you
have a responsibility to make sure that any email you write or forward is
within the bounds of the law. Glasgow City Council, or ALEOs, cannot
guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not
been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks.

For further information and to view the council’s Privacy Statement(s),
please click on link below:

[2]www.glasgow.gov.uk/privacy

References

Visible links
1. http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/
2. http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/privacy

FOI Reviews, Glasgow City Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Davies,

 

On behalf of Carole Forrest, Director of Governance and Solicitor to the
Council, please find attached Glasgow City Council's response to your
request for review of your information request.

 

Regards,

 

FOI Review Team

Glasgow City Council

[1]www.glasgow.gov.uk

 

Glasgow - UK Council of the Year 2015
Disclaimer:
This email is from Glasgow City Council or one of its Arm’s Length
Organisations (ALEOs). Views expressed in this message do not necessarily
reflect those of the council, or ALEO, who will not necessarily be bound
by its contents. If you are not the intended recipient of this email (and
any attachment), please inform the sender by return email and destroy all
copies. Unauthorised access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. Please be aware that communication by internet email is not
secure as messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. We
therefore strongly advise you not to email any information which, if
disclosed to someone else, would be likely to cause you distress. If you
have an enquiry of this nature then please write to us using the postal
system. If you choose to email this information to us there can be no
guarantee of privacy. Any email, including its content, may be monitored
and used by the council, or ALEO, for reasons of security and for
monitoring internal compliance with the office policy on staff use. Email
monitoring or blocking software is also used. Please be aware that you
have a responsibility to make sure that any email you write or forward is
within the bounds of the law. Glasgow City Council, or ALEOs, cannot
guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not
been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks.

For further information and to view the council’s Privacy Statement(s),
please click on link below:

[2]www.glasgow.gov.uk/privacy

References

Visible links
1. http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/
2. http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/privacy