Dear Samantha Woodlock,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA) - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

The City of London (CoL) acknowledges receipt of your request for information of 28 June 2022.

Public authorities are required to respond to requests within the statutory timescale of 20 working days beginning from the first working day after they receive a request. The Act does not always require public authorities to disclose the information which they hold.

The FOIA applies to the CoL as a local authority, police authority and port health authority. The CoL is the local and police authority for the "Square Mile", ie the historic City of London, and not for London as a whole. Please see the following page containing a link to a map (City of London - Interactive Mapping), which shows the local authority area covered by the CoL:
https://www.mapping.cityoflondon.gov.uk/...

The CoL does have some functions, including Port Health Authority functions, which extend beyond the City boundary. For further information please see: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Information Officer
Comptroller & City Solicitor's Department
City of London
Tel: 020-7332 1243
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

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Dear Samantha Woodlock,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (FOIA) - INFORMATION REQUEST

Following your request for information of 28 June 2022 and our
acknowledgement on the 29 June 2022, the City of London (CoL) responds as
follows:

City Of London Project Manager (Construction) Framework:

• What are the contractual performance KPI's for this contract?

See attached file ‘Professional Services Framework Performance
Indicators’.

• Suppliers who applied for inclusion on each framework/contract and were
successful & not successful at the PQQ & ITT stages

Lot 1 - £100k to £325k Successful Suppliers:

CPC Projects, Currie and Brown, Edge PS, Keegans Group, Ridge & Partners,
Stace.

Lot 2 - £326k to £1,500,000 Successful Suppliers:

Gardiner & Theobald, Mace, Pick Everard, Turner & Townsend, Watts Group,
WT Partnership.

Unsuccessful Suppliers:

The CoL applies the following exemptions below. As a result, our response
acts as a refusal notice.

 1. FOIA section 41 -  Information provided in confidence

The CoL considers that this exemption is engaged with regard to the names
of those unsuccessful in a tender process, as information which is
commercially sensitive.

Bidders enter such processes in confidence, and as such would expect their
information, including their identity, to remain held in confidence unless
they were to become the successful bidders.

Given the sensitivity of the information, it is, of course, not already in
the public domain and the CoL considers that disclosure would result in an
actionable breach of confidence, because the information could provide any
competitor with the actual or, at worst the implied circumstances of an
unsuccessful bidder.

We consider that the information has the necessary quality of confidence
required to be subject to this exemption.

Please note, too, that a public authority has to consider a disclosure
under the FOIA as a disclosure to the world. We note the Information
Tribunal’s statement that “Disclosure under [the] FOIA is effectively an
unlimited disclosure to the public as a whole, without conditions”
(Information Tribunal Appeal Decision EA/2006/0011 & 0013).

The exemption at section 41(1) of the FOIA is an absolute exemption and is
not subject to a public interest test. However, should the public interest
be considered in any court action, we consider that it would firmly weigh
against disclosure, for the same reasons as outlined in our explanation of
the application of the section 43(2) exemption, below.

 2. FOIA section 43(2) - Prejudice to the commercial interests of any
person (including the public authority)

The CoL considers that disclosure of the names of unsuccessful bidders in
tender processes would prejudice both the commercial interests of the
third parties and the CoL, therefore engaging the exemption at section
43(2) of the FOIA.

The specific harm which would occur is to the competitive position of the
third parties, through any possible implied reflection of their
unsuccessful status resulting in harm or damage to their reputation or
weakening of their position in a particular field, especially where such
harm or damage is caused by assumption rather than fact; and to the
financial position of the CoL through the harm this would do to the CoL's
ability to attract tenders from market leaders in the private sector, and
the confidence of third parties in doing business with us without the
concern that such information would be made public regardless of whether
they are successful or unsuccessful.

The section 43(2) exemption is subject to the public interest test.  The
public interest arguments in favour of disclosure of such information have
been clarified in published guidance. They would be:

(i) The desirability of furthering the understanding of, and participation
in, public debate on procurement.

(ii) Facilitating accountability and transparency of public authorities
for their procurement decisions.

(iii) Facilitating accountability and transparency in the spending of
public money.

Nevertheless, in the view of the CoL the application of the public
interest test in relation to the section 43(2) exemption weighs against
disclosure in this instance.

As stated above, a public authority has to consider a disclosure under the
FOIA as a disclosure to the world. We note the Information Tribunal’s
statement that “Disclosure under [the] FOIA is effectively an unlimited
disclosure to the public as a whole, without conditions” (Information
Tribunal Appeal Decision EA/2006/0011 & 0013).

The CoL considers that any public interest in the disclosure of this
information would be limited to a local interest only, and that there is
no regional, national or world-wide public interest in the disclosure of
unsuccessful bidders in tender processes, especially where the tender
itself is localised, and that should this information be placed in the
public domain, by virtue of the FOIA, there is a real and significant risk
of harm to the commercial position of the contractor and the CoL, which is
not outweighed by any public interest arguments in favour in disclosure.

The CoL confirms the following:

• Actual spend on this contract/framework (and any sub lots), from the
start of the contract to the current date

Invoiced spend to date is £139,591.

• Start date & duration of framework/contract?

48 months as stated in the TED notice. 30/06/2021 – 31/05/2025.

• Could you please provide a copy of the service/product specification
given to all bidders for when this contract was last advertised?

Yes see attached the specification document as published at the SQ stage
called “Document 3 – Specifications”.

• Is there an extension clause in the framework(s)/contract(s) and, if so,
the duration of the extension?

No.

• Has a decision been made yet on whether the framework(s)/contract(s) are
being either extended or renewed?  

No, not at this stage. Planning is likely to commence early 2024.

• Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this
contract?

Paul Wilkinson, City Surveyor.

We hope this response is of some assistance.

If you wish to make a complaint about the way the CoL has managed your
enquiry, please make your complaint in writing to email address;
[1][email address]. For a link to the CoL’s FOI
complaints procedure, please visit the following page:
[2]www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Feedback, at the end of which is located the
FOI complaints procedure. If, having used the CoL’s FOI Complaints
Procedure, you are still dissatisfied, you may request the Information
Commissioner to investigate. Please contact: Information Commissioner,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone:
(01625) 545700.  Website: [3]http://www.ico.org.uk/.

The FOIA applies to the CoL as a local authority, police authority and
port health authority; and to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
(GSMD), which it manages. Subject to any other statutory provisions
requiring the CoL to disclose information, release of information outside
the scope of the Act is subject to the discretion of the CoL.

The CoL holds the copyright in this communication. Its supply does not
give a right to re-use in a way that would infringe that copyright, for
example, by making copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public or
to any other person. Brief extracts of any of the material may be
reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for
non-commercial purposes, private study, criticism, review and news
reporting, subject to an acknowledgement of the copyright owner.

Yours sincerely,

Access to Information Network Representative

Commercial Services

Chief Operating Officer’s Department

City of London Corporation

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