Dear Dr O'Toole

Freedom of Information/Environmental Information Regulations request: FOI-5967

Thank you for your request dated 09 June 2017

Your request will be answered by 07 July 2017

If you have any queries about this request, please contact me, quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Corporate Services
Directorate of Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20 Basement The Town Hall, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

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Dear Dr O’Toole

Freedom of Information request: FOI-5967

Thank you for your request dated 9 June 2017 in which you asked:

Please provide a copy of the Lease and SLA granted to Blackheath Rugby Club by Greenwich Borough Council, detailing what, if any measures, have been stipulated to protect the existing wildlife habitats and Bats Hervey Road Sports Field.

Our response is as follows:

The council does not currently have a lease with Blackheath Rugby. The council does have an SLA but this will not come into effect until the lease has been finalised.

The SLA is being withheld under section 43(2) FOIA – commercial interests. Section 43(2) of the FOIA provides an exemption from disclosure of information which would or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).

The disclosure of the SLA would be likely to prejudice the council’s and Blackheath Rugby’s commercial interest.

Disclosure of the SLA at this state of the transaction is likely to be more sensitive. Given the significant prejudice that would be suffered by Blackheath Rugby if the information was disclosed the council asserts this would lead Blackheath Rugby being discouraged when bidding for contracts in the future or else it would be more reluctant to provide information as part of its bid. This would hamper the council’s ability to achieve the best deal when carrying out future tendering exercises of this kind.

Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and so the council has now undertaken a public interest test, balancing the public interest in maintaining the exemption against the public interest in disclosure.

Public interest arguments in favour of disclosure
There is a public interest in demonstrating transparency, accountability and value for money where a company is gaining access to public money. It also suggested that companies seeking public sector work are expected to accept an increased level of public scrutiny as a result of gaining access to publicly funded opportunities.

Public interest arguments for maintaining the exemption
The council asserts that it was not in the public interest to cause the prejudice described above given the sensitive stage of the transaction and the fact that the lease has yet to be entered into.

In balancing the public interest, the council accepts that disclosure of the information would shed light on the reasons why the successful bidder was awarded the contract and this would serve the public interest in transparency and accountability in the spending of public money. However, the council takes the view there is a strong public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies and that they should not be disadvantaged as a result of doing business with the public sector. In particular, the public interest in protecting the commercial interests of Blackheath Rugby especially given the timing of the request. As explained above, the council and Blackheath Rugby are in the process, and are at the time of the request, negotiating the lease. Therefore, the commercial prejudice that would be suffered by Blackheath Rugby is likely to be significant and this is a strong factor in favour of withholding the information.

Given the timing of the request and the prejudice that would be caused to Blackheath Rugby’s commercial interests, the council has concluded that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

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 should 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, 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 [email address], or by post at Customer Contact, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Corporate Services
Directorate of Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20 Basement The Town Hall, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

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Dear Dr O'Toole

Freedom of Information request Internal Review: FOI-IR-5967

Thank you for your request for an Internal Review regarding our response to your Freedom of Information request.

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days.

If you have any queries, please contact me, quoting the reference number.

If you are not content with the outcome of the Internal Review, you can 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,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Corporate Services
Directorate of Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20 Basement The Town Hall, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

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Dear Dr O'Toole

Internal Review on Freedom of Information request: FOI - 5967

Thank you for your Internal Review request on the handling of your Freedom of Information request.

Please see attached response.

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,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20, Basement, Town Hall, Wellington Street, Woolwich, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

 Please consider the environment before printing this email

Kind regards,

Rhiannon Hesketh
Research and Projects Officer
Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

' 020 8921 3982
*   Room 20 (basement), The Town Hall, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PW
8 www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

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