Matt Falcon
Information Access Team
via email to:
Communications Directorate
request-1101855-
T 020 3461 4878
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
F 020 3461 5460
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
3 April 2024
Please quote ref. CAS-004584
on all correspondence
Dear Matt Falcon
Thank you for your email of 11 March to the Bank of England (the Bank), in which you
ask for access to the following information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):
‘…details in respect to the contract below.
Physical Security (Framework No RM3830):
http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:220005-2019:TEXT:EN:HTML
The details we require are:
What are the contractual performance KPI's for this contract?’
The Bank holds information within scope of this part of your request. However, in our
view, this information is exempt from disclosure under section 31(1)(a) (prevention and
detection of crime) of the FOIA. Annex 1 sets out why section 31(1)(a) applies.
‘Suppliers who applied for inclusion on each contract and were successful
& not successful at the PQQ & ITT stages.’
The Bank holds information within scope of this part of your request. However, in our
view, this information is exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) (commercial
interests) of the FOIA. Annex 2 sets out why section 43(2) applies.
‘Actual spend on this contract, from the start of the contract to the current
date.’
Actual spend from the start of the contract on 1 July 2019 to the date of your request is
£14,320,561.91.
Bank of England | Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH
+44 (0)20 3461 4444
| www.bankofengland.co.uk
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‘Is there an extension clause in the contract and, if so, the duration of the
extension?’
Extension clauses have been used. There are no remaining extensions once the current
one ends on 6 January 2025.
‘Has a decision been made yet on whether the contract are being either
extended or renewed?’
A new tender will be issued within the next month.
‘Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this
contract?’
This information is exempt under section 40(2) of the FOIA (personal information).
Details about the application of this exemption are set out in Annex 3. Any enquiries
relating to procurement can be sent to:
xxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx. I hope you have found this response helpful.
Yours sincerely
Marc Obiols
Marc Obiols
Information Access Team
Your right to complain under FOIA
If you are unhappy with our decision, you can request an internal review. To do so, please email your
concerns to
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx or post to Bank of England, Threadneedle Street,
London EC2R 8AH within two months of the date of this response.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have a right of appeal to the Information
Commissioner. You can submit complaints to the Information Commissioner via their website at
FOI and
EIR complaints | ICO
Privacy notice
When you contact the Bank, we collect certain information about you in order to satisfy our legal obligation
to respond to your FOIA request. For full details on what we collect and how we process that information
in relation to your request, please see the FOIA privacy notice her
e: Freedom of Information | Bank of
England. For more information about how the Bank handles personal data as the UK’s central Bank, please see our
privacy page here
: Privacy and the Bank of England | Bank of England.
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Annex 1
Section 31(1)(a) provides that information is exempt from disclosure if its disclosure
would, or would be likely to, prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. A disclosure
of information pursuant to the FOIA needs to be treated as a disclosure to the world at
large. Disclosing information such as the Bank’s key performance indicators relating to
its physical security contract would in our view, provide useful intelligence to those who
may have malicious intent and therefore would be likely to prejudice the prevention of
crime. Given the critical role of the Bank in the nation’s economy this would have a
knock-on effect on national infrastructure and economic stability.
The application of section 31(1)(a) of the FOIA is subject to a public interest
assessment. We recognise that there are important public interest considerations in
terms of transparency and accountability, particularly regarding the Bank’s spending and
its procurement process. There are however significant countervailing public interest
considerations against disclosure. These include the very substantial public interest in
not jeopardising the Bank’s security and that of its staff, and not rendering the Bank
more vulnerable to physical attacks. The potential impact on the national economy and
infrastructure weighs further against disclosure. Having regard to all the circumstances
the Bank’s view is that the public interest in maintaining the exemption in section
31(1)(a) therefore outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information you have
requested.
Annex 2
Section 43(2) of the FOIA provides that information is exempt if its disclosure would, or
would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any legal person, including the
public authority holding it. The name(s) of supplier(s) who were unsuccessful at any
stage ve been withheld from disclosure under section 43(2) (commercial interests) of the
FoI Act, on the grounds that disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial
interests of either the supplier(s) concerned and/or the Bank. Information about the
successful bidder is in the public domain.
Section 43 is subject to an additional public interest test. Whilst we recognise that there
are clearly public accountability considerations regarding the award of public contracts,
there is a significant countervailing public interest in protecting the commercial interests
of suppliers and the Bank by ensuring that prospective participants are not dissuaded
from participating in future tenders. Having regard to all the circumstances, we consider
that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in
disclosing the information in this instance.
Annex 3
The name of the senior officer outside procurement responsible for the physical security
contract is exempt under section 40(2) of the FOIA (personal information) on the
grounds that the information constitutes personal data, and its disclosure would
contravene one or more of the principles in data protection legislation. In particular, we
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have had regard to the reasonable privacy expectations of individuals who may be
identified by disclosing their names.
