LPS Care - Statutory Advocacy Service, Lancashire Advocacy Hub & Lancashire Carers Advocacy Service

Hello,

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

We are writing to acknowledge receipt of your enquiry dated 19/05/2025, in
which you request the disclosure of information.

We can confirm that your enquiry will now be assigned to an officer who
will commence a search for the information you require and they will
respond before the 20-working day deadline of 17/06/2025. Should we
envisage any delays, or require more details from you, we will contact you
immediately.

Regarding any communication about the above, please quote reference
10700872 (AA4).

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Team

Lancashire County Council

[1]www.lancashire.gov.uk

[2][Lancashire County Council request email]

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Dear Ms. Linzey,

Reference: 10700872 (AA4)

Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) 

Thank you for your request for information dated 19/05/2025. Further to
this request for information, made under the provisions of the above Act,
please see below Lancashire County Council's response. 

 

I would be most grateful if you would provide me, under the Freedom of
Information Act, details in respect to the contract below.

LPS Care - Statutory Advocacy Services - Lancashire Advocacy Hub &
Lancashire Carers Advocacy Service

The details we require are:

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

See attached specifications which was advertised on our sourcing portal
when the tender was advertised.

Appendix 3 Lot 1 Lancashire Advocacy Hub

Appendix 4 Lot 2 Lancashire Carers Advocacy Service

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

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives rights of public access to
information held by public authorities, however, there are exemptions from
this right which are set out in Part II of the Act. The below constitutes
a refusal notice under Section 17 of the Act.

Unfortunately, the information you have requested is exempt from
disclosure in accordance with Section 43(2) of the FOIA. Under Section
43(2) information is exempt 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). 

Lancashire County Council's commercial interests would be prejudiced by
disclosure Participation in the tender process is done confidentially for
two key reasons. Firstly, disclosing details on these suppliers could
affect their participation in future tenders. Revealing the names of
bidders can affect their market position and reputation. As such,
disclosing this information would reduce bidders' confidence in the
process and make them less likely to apply for the County Council's
tenders in the future. This would prejudice the County Council's
commercial interests as it would make it more difficult for the County
Council to achieve value for money in future tenders.

Secondly, disclosure would undermine the competitiveness and the integrity
of the County Council's tender process. Competitors might use this
information to undermine the bidders and adjust their own strategies. The
County Council needs to protect the confidentiality of bidders to ensure a
fair and competitive bidding process. An unfair and uncompetitive bidding
process could again prejudice the County Council's ability to achieve
value for money in future tenders.

  

The use of Section 43(2) is subject to a public interest test. The County
Council acknowledges that there is a general public interest in
accountability and transparency in relation to the activities of public
authorities. This is especially the case when it comes to transparency
over the public authorities' contracts and tender processes, to ensure
that these processes are conducted fairly and achieve value for money.

However, the above arguments must be considered against the overriding
public interest in ensuring that the commercial interests of the County
Council are not unduly prejudiced. It is important that FOI disclosures do
not prejudice the County Council ability to achieve value for money or
unfairly distort market competition. Such outcomes would not be in the
public interest as they would hinder the County Council's ability to
maintain a high standard of services for Lancashire's residents and
potentially harm the local economy. 

Considering the above public interest arguments, the County Council has
determined that on balance there is an overriding public interest in
withholding this information. Therefore, the Section 43(2) exemption can
be applied and your request for this information is refused. 

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

Lancashire Advocacy Hub: Total payments made to Advocacy Focus from the
beginning of their current contract (01/08/2023) to 18/05/2025 =
£3,002,542.91.

Lancashire Carers Advocacy Service: Total payments made to Cloverleaf
Carers Advocacy from the beginning of their current contract (01/08/2023)
and 20/04/2025 = £196,053.17.

 4. Start date & duration of framework/contract?

Contract start and end date 1st August 2023 till 31st July 2026 with an
option to extend by a further period or periods up to a maximum 24 months.

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

As above and attached.

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

See question 4.

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

This is still under review at the moment

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

Nichola Morris, Senior Commissioning Manager

If you are unhappy with the way in which your request for information has
been handled under the Freedom of Information Act, you can request a
review using the internal review process. 

 

Please email your review request to [1][Lancashire County Council request
email] or in writing to: 

 

The Freedom of Information Officer, Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78,
County Hall, Preston, PR1 8XJ, quoting our reference: 10700872 (AA4)

 

Please note that such requests must be made within 40 working days of
receiving our response. Further information about the FOI complaints
process can be found on the county council website.  

 

If, after this stage, you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to refer
the matter to the Information Commissioner, whose contact details are as
follows: 

 

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF 

 

Tel: 0303 123 1113 

 

Email: [2][email address] 

Yours sincerely

Aiysha

Information Access Officer

Information Governance Team

Lancashire County Council

T:  0300 123 6701

W: [3]www.lancashire.gov.uk

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