Recruitment Agency Spend

The request was partially successful.

Dear University of Manchester,

Please could you provide me with the total value of spend on staff recruitment agencies, which agencies were used, and how much was spent with each agency for the academic year 2015/2016.

Yours faithfully,

George Scott

Lisa Crawley, University of Manchester

Dear Mr Scott

 

Thank you for your email requesting data relating to recruitment agency
spend at The University of Manchester.

I will today forward details of your request to the relevant department
within the University and will contact you again once I have received a
response.

With best regards

 

Lisa Crawley

 

Dr Lisa Crawley l  Records Officer  l Room 1.028, John Owens Building 
l Compliance & Risk Management Office l  The University of Manchester  l 
Oxford Road  l  Manchester  l  M13 9PL  l  Tel +44 (0)161 275 8400  

 

Lisa Crawley, University of Manchester

Dear Mr Scott

Thank you for your email requesting data relating to staff recruitment
agency spend at The University of Manchester and please find our response
below with regards total spend and numbers of providers. The University is
refusing to provide the names of the agencies and spend per agency as it
believes that exemption 43 – the exemption which relates to commercial
interests applies. Please see below the formal refusal notice.

The University of Manchester confirms that it spent £3,242,293 during the
financial year of 2015/16 with 5 providers.

Refusal Notice

This Refusal Notice has been issued under Section 17 of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) in respect of your request for information under
Section 1 (1) of the FOIA.  The University of Manchester confirms that the
information requested is  held but we are refusing to provide it in
response to your request for the reasons set out below. 

Details of your request:

Please could you provide me with…staff recruitment agencies, which
agencies were used, and how much was spent with each agency for the
academic year 2015/2016.

 

Section 43 (2) of the FOIA – Commercial Interests

 

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).

 

We are applying Section 43 (2) as a prejudice-based exemption.  We may
rely on this exemption if the disclosure would prejudice someone’s
commercial interest (including the University’s own).  Commercial interest
may be prejudiced where a disclosure would be likely to:

 

o Damage its business reputation or the confidence that customers,
suppliers or investors may have in it
o Have a detrimental impact on its commercial revenue or threaten its
ability to obtain supplies or secure finance
o Weaken its position in a competitive environment by revealing market
sensitive information or information of potential usefulness to its
competitors

 

If the information is disclosed the University may see a significant rise
in costs for ongoing services and it may also damage existing
relationships with current vendors.  Therefore the University believes
that the requested information is commercially sensitive.

 

Public Interest Test

 

As Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption we are required to carry out a
public interest test to determine if the commercial interest is over
ridden by the public interest from a release of the information concerned.

 

The University of Manchester has carefully considered the balance of
public interest in this instance and has concluded that the balance lies
in withholding the information.

 

Whilst it is clearly in the public interest that public funds received and
spent by a public authority are dealt with in as transparent a manner as
possible, we feel that the public interest in the confidentiality of the
requested information in a competitive market place carries more weight.

 

The University of Manchester Freedom of Information Act appeals procedure 

 

If you feel that The University of Manchester has refused access to
information to which you are entitled, or has not dealt with your request
appropriately under the FOIA, you have a right of appeal. 

 

An appeal in the first instance should be directed to the Records
Management Office, contact details below. You should include: 

 

o a covering letter giving details of your complaint
o details of your initial request
o any other relevant information

 

The University will deal with your appeal within a reasonable time, and
will inform you of the projected time scale on receipt of your complaint.
 

You are also welcome to contact the Records Management Office with
informal questions about the handling of your request. 

 

After The University’s internal appeals procedure has been exhausted, you
have a further right of appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

 

Details of this procedure can be found at:  

 

[1]www.ico.org.uk

 

I trust this concludes your request.

 

With best regards

 

Lisa Crawley

 

 

Dr Lisa Crawley l  Records Officer  l Room 1.028, John Owens Building 
l Compliance & Risk Management Office l  The University of Manchester  l 
Oxford Road  l  Manchester  l  M13 9PL  l  Tel +44 (0)161 275 8400  

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/