Ms Jenna Corderoy
Information Management
Shire Hall
Warwick
CV34 4RL
Telephone 01926 413716
Email xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Please ask for Jonathan Sheward
Our ref: 7743552
Your ref:
Date: 19 April 2022
Dear Ms Corderoy,
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Your request for information has been considered by Warwickshire County Council
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please be advised that we are unable to provide all of the information that you have
requested.
You asked us:
This request relates to MIPIM 2022, a 4-day real estate exhibition, conference and
networking event gathering held in Cannes, France, from 15th-18th March 2022. I
would like to request the following information:
(1) Please provide a list of council representatives (including councillors) who
attended MIPIM 2022. Please provide their full name and position at the council.
• Monica Fogarty (Chief Executive)
• Mark Ryder (Director of Communities)
• Cllr Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader)
• Ian Flynn (Inward Investment Manager)
(2) For each council representative's trip to attend MIPIM 2022, please provide the
following:
- The date and duration of the trip
Tues 15th-18th March
• Monica Fogarty (Chief Executive)
• Cllr Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader)
Mon 14th-18th March
• Mark Ryder (Director of Communities)
Sun 13th-18th March
• Ian Flynn (Inward Investment Manager)
- The reasons why the council representative attended MIPIM 2022
To promote the Warwickshire County Council area as part of the Coventry &
Warwickshire MIPIM partnership, and as part of the wider WMCA area.
To promote investment and development in the county of Warwickshire, through
running and presenting events, attending events and meeting specific businesses.
- The cost of the MIPIM 2022 trip (please provide a breakdown of costs, including
travel costs, accommodation costs and expenses)
• Hotels - £3727.61
• Flights - £2300.34
• Transfers - £939.15
• Food and Drink - £89.40
- Please state whether the council met the costs of the MIPIM 2022 trip, or
whether an individual, group, company, consortium, charity or another
organisation met the costs. Please provide the full name of the individual, group,
company, charity or organisation that met the costs.
Warwickshire County Council met the costs of the trip.
(3) For each council representative that attended MIPIM 2022, please indicate
whether they attended
(a) meetings held by companies
Mark Ryder, Ian Flynn
• Spoke to a number of companies over a range of industries and sectors. (Please
see * below)
(b) private events held by companies
None
(c) breakfasts/lunches/dinners held by companies.
Monica Fogarty, Cllr Peter Butlin, Mark Ryder
• Arcadis Lunch
Mark Ryder, Ian Flynn
• FDI Intelligence/ Financial Times European Cities and Regions of the Future
2022/23 Awards
For each meeting/private event/breakfast/lunch/dinner, please name the company
involved and provide a description as to what was discussed.
At any meeting held, an opportunity was taken to find out about the business and to
present the opportunities for investment and development in the county of
Warwickshire. (Please see * below)
* As advised above Warwickshire County Council representatives spoke to a number of
companies over a range of industries and sectors.
However, due to commercial confidentiality we are not willing to name individual
companies or to provide detail on what was discussed.
In refusing to provide this information we have applied exemption Section 43
(Commercial Interests) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We consider that this exemption applies because disclosure of the information in
question could prejudice the commercial interest of both the third parties' concerned and
that of the County Council, in releasing details of future commercial activities being
considered by any of the parties concerned.
In applying this exemption, we have had to balance the public interest in withholding the
information against the interest in favour of disclosure.
Factors in favour of withholding:
The reason why the public interest favours withholding disclosure is that it is not in the
public interest for the Council to deter future suppliers from bidding for future contracts
as this may mean that the Council does not get the best deal and therefore is not
spending public money as efficiently as it could be.
In addition, it is not in the public interest for suppliers to withhold information from future
tender submissions because
they are concerned about future disclosure, as this would mean the Council cannot
make an informed decision when choosing a supplier and therefore may not get the
best deal.
Finally, it is in the public interest to ensure fair commercial competition in a mixed
economy and therefore it would not be in the public interest to affect competition by
giving one potential supplier an unfair advantage.
Factors in favour of disclosure:
* Transparency in respect of how the Council spends public money;
* Enabling public scrutiny in ensuring that the Council is securing the best use of public
resources
In all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Therefore, please treat this response as a Public Interest Refusal Notice in accordance
with Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an
internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within 40 days of the date
of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to:
Information Management
Shire Hall
Warwick
CV34 4RL
xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at:
The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Phone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
I will now close your request as of this date.
Yours sincerely
Jonathan Sheward
Information Rights Officer
