Green Witch takeover
Dear Greenwich Borough Council,
Could you please tell me how much the council was or will be paid, and by whom, for the "Royal Borough of Green Witch" takeover launched on November 12.
Could you please also send me a copy of the agreement or contract that governs the agreement.
Many thanks for your help.
Yours faithfully,
Darryl Chamberlain
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
FOI request: FOI-2924
Thank you for your request dated 13/11/2024
Your request will be answered by 11/12/2024
If you have any queries about this request, please contact me, quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
David White
Head of Information, Safety and Community Services
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
FOI request: FOI-2924
Thank you for your request dated 13/11/2024
Our response is as follows:
Could you please tell me how much the council was or will be paid, and by
whom, for the "Royal Borough of Green Witch" takeover launched on November
12.
Could you please also send me a copy of the agreement or contract that
governs the agreement.
The Council confirms that no costs were incurred in relation to the change
any of the GreenWitch signage.
The information regarding the amount paid to the Council, the payer, and
the agreement/contract related to the GreenWitch takeover is exempt from
disclosure under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).
Section 43(2) of the FOIA states that:-
(2) “information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act
would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any
person (including the public authority holding it).”
The Council has consulted with the Company responsible for the temporary
rebranding, and disclosure of this information is likely to prejudice the
commercial interest of the Company for the reasons below:-
The Company’s position is that its marketing and financial data is
commercially confidential and highly sensitive. This is not information
that it publishes or reports externally or places in the public domain.
There are various reasons behind this including, but not limited to,
disclosure of the requested information may be anti-competitive (by
informing competitors of marketing budgets, or spend on media placements),
put the Company in breach of contract, or harm the Company’s position with
partner companies or clients.
Further, the payment in question does not involve taxpayer money or the
allocation of public funds on a marketing campaign. It is a private
payment by the Company for an activation with the Visit Greenwich (and it
is like a media buy, where individual companies rates are also
confidential).
The disclosure of this information is likely to prejudice the commercial
interest of the Council for the reasons below: -
Disclosure of the requested information is also likely to cause
unwarranted reputational damage or loss of confidence in the Council. The
overall impact could lead to a distortion to the market price with a
detrimental impact for the Council in terms of future revenue-making
opportunities.
Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and therefore in consideration of
its application, the Council has considered whether the public interest in
maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure as
set out in Section 2 FOIA.
Factors in favour of disclosure of the requested information:
• The Council understands the importance of transparency and
accountability of its decision making.
• The Council understands the importance of ensuring fair commercial
competition in a mixed economy.
• The Council acknowledges the general public interest in being open,
transparent and accountable the public purse.
Factors in favour of non-disclosure of the requested information:
• It is essential that all parties who enter into an agreement with the
Council are assured that their competitive advantage is not lost for a
substantial period of time thereafter as result of disclosure of this
information under FOIA.
• Revealing the pricing model by way of individual companies' rates in
this market would erode their competitive position and may impact the
whole market to some degree.
• The Council may incur some reputational damage in regard to its future
contractual arrangements should the information relating to the
Company’s pricing be disclosed.
• Additionally, reputational damage has the potential to adversely
affect future negotiations involving similar agreements and revenue
opportunities. Such repercussions could lead to undesirable outcomes
for public finances, which ultimately undermines the public interest.
Having considered the public interest test, the balance of the public
interest favours maintaining the exemption.
To conclude, the requested information is withheld in accordance with
section 43(2) of FOIA.
If you have any queries about this correspondence, please contact me,
quoting the reference number above.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your request, you can ask
for an Internal Review. Internal review requests must be submitted within
two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original
request. If you wish to do this, please contact us in writing, setting
out why you are dissatisfied.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the Internal Review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision.
Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
Internal Review procedure provided by the Council. You can contact the ICO
by emailing [1][email address], or by post at Customer Contact,
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
David White
Head of Information, Safety and Community Services
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
From: foi <[Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Sent: 13 November 2024 11:08
To: 'Darryl Chamberlain' <[FOI #1202986 email]>
Cc: foi <[Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Subject: FOI-2924: Freedom of Information request - Green Witch takeover
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
FOI request: FOI-2924
Thank you for your request dated 13/11/2024
Your request will be answered by 11/12/2024
If you have any queries about this request, please contact me, quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
David White
Head of Information, Safety and Community Services
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
Dear Greenwich Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Greenwich Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Green Witch takeover'.
I believe that the secrecy this deal is excessive, as revealing how much was paid is in the public interest considering:
a) It was the subject of questioning at the full council meeting on December 4, where it was stated that the sum was "surprisingly low".
b) The council itself has said in press statements that the money was going towards the Sparkle in the Park festival - the public cannot have confidence in statements like this if the council will not say how much money is being generated by deals like this, particularly in times of austerity-driven cuts to services.
c) Another local authority, Transport for London, has revealed the payments it received for similar deals on the Tube network: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparenc...
I would ask you to review this refusal and to release the information requested.
Yours faithfully,
Darryl Chamberlain
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
Internal Review request: INT-3105
Thank you for your request dated 12/12/2024
Your request will be answered by 14/01/2025
If you have any queries about this request, please contact me, quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
David White
Head of Information, Safety and Community Services
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
Internal Review request: INT-3105
Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in providing a response
to your Internal Review request. We apologise for any inconvenience this
may cause. The service providing you with your response has been chased
and remain committed to responding to your request as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
From: foi <[Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Sent: 12 December 2024 11:18
To: 'Darryl Chamberlain' <[FOI #1202986 email]>
Cc: foi <[Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Subject: INT-3105: Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
Green Witch takeover
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
Internal Review request: INT-3105
Thank you for your request dated 12/12/2024
Your request will be answered by 14/01/2025
If you have any queries about this request, please contact me, quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
David White
Head of Information, Safety and Community Services
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
Internal Review request: INT-3105
Thank you for your Internal Review request on the handling of your Freedom
of Information request. Please find the outcome attached.
If you are not content with the outcome of the Internal Review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision.
Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
Internal Review procedure provided by the Council. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
David White
Head of Information, Safety and Community Services
Directorate of Communities, Environment & Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
8www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
From: foi <[Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Sent: 15 January 2025 09:13
To: 'Darryl Chamberlain' <[FOI #1202986 email]>
Cc: foi <[Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Subject: INT-3105: Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
Green Witch takeover
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
Internal Review request: INT-3105
Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in providing a response
to your Internal Review request. We apologise for any inconvenience this
may cause. The service providing you with your response has been chased
and remain committed to responding to your request as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
From: foi <[1][Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Sent: 12 December 2024 11:18
To: 'Darryl Chamberlain' <[2][FOI #1202986 email]>
Cc: foi <[3][Greenwich Borough Council request email]>
Subject: INT-3105: Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
Green Witch takeover
Dear Mr Chamberlain,
Internal Review request: INT-3105
Thank you for your request dated 12/12/2024
Your request will be answered by 14/01/2025
If you have any queries about this request, please contact me, quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
David White
Head of Information, Safety and Community Services
Directorate of Communities, Environment and Central
Royal Borough of Greenwich
* 3^rd Floor, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London, SE18
6HQ
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email
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