Sponsorship of Tranmere Rovers

The request was refused by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please provide details of the amount of cash that Wirral Borough Council gives to Tranmere Rovers football club in sponsorship.

Yours faithfully,

Alan Clay

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

Good Morning,
Thank you for your email below. I am sorry but I am unable to disclose
financial information regarding Tranmere Rovers Football club
sponsorship. The detail of the sponsorship forms part of a confidential
contract between the Council and the club. The information is therefore
subject to an absolute exemption under The Freedom of Information regime
- Section 41, Information supplied in Confidence. Guidance from the
Department of Constitutional Affairs on the use of this exemption is
clear and states

"Section 41 only applies where disclosure of information to the public
would constitute an actionable breach of confidence."

Wirral has been asked for details of the Tranmere Rovers sponsorship
details over the past few years and we have held in depth talks with
legal advisors and the club itself; our aim is always to provide a
consistent and transparent approach to FOI enquiries. As it currently
stands, if the Council did disclose the sponsorship details then this
would constitute an actionable breach of confidence, we are therefore
unable to supply the information requested.
Yours sincerely
Jane Corrin
Information Manager

Council's complaints procedure is available at
http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100004/200...

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Glenn Fleetwood left an annotation ()

Why did the council accept this confidential agreement? Who's giving who the money here? Why are Tranmere Rovers pulling all the strings? Whose money is the council giving away to Tranmere Rovers and what do they expect in return? Tax payers have a right to know what the council is doing with its money.

Peter Collingbourne left an annotation ()

I don't think the council has applied the section 41 exemption correctly here. In order for this exemption to apply, the information must have been obtained from another person (see FOIA 2000 section 41(1)(a)). Since the sponsorship figure was agreed between the parties, the section 41 exemption cannot apply. See also ICO guidance entitled "Information provided in confidence relating to contracts" [1]. I would recommend asking for an internal review on this point.

[1] http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...

Glenn Fleetwood left an annotation ()

After reading the above post and seeing the guidance notes issued by the ico on the section 41 exemption it seems to me that the council has applied this incorrectly and I would concur with the suggestion in asking for an internal review.

Alex Skene left an annotation ()

It's also worth pointing out to them that the annual payments to Tranmere Rovers would be freely available for the public to inspect every year under the auspices of the Audit Commission Act 1998 http://www.orchardnews.com/audcomact.htm

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Sponsorship of Tranmere Rovers'.

I am dissatisfied by the response I have received and request a review. I am informed that the Council have not applied the section 41 exemption correctly in this case. In order for this exemption to apply, the information must have been obtained from another person (see FOIA 2000 section 41 1(a). Since the sponsorship figure was agreed between the parties, the section 41 exemption cannot apply.

I am not asking for the details of the contract but on the amount of cash sponsorship provided to Tranmere Rovers out of public funds? Furthermore, why would disclosing the amount of cash sponsorship constitute an actionable breach of confidence?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/sp...

Yours sincerely,

Alan Clay

Corrin, Jane, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

Good Afternoon,

Just to update you on your request for an internal review regarding
Council's refusal to supply you with Tranmere Rovers Sponsorship
information.

The review is being done by the Deputy Chief Executive of the Council in
conjunction with legal advisors. They are reviewing the processing of
your request and the decision to ultimately refuse the information, along
with the exemption quoted by the Council to substantiate the refusal. I
will keep you informed of all progress in this matter and their final
findings.

Kind Regards

Jane Corrin

Information Manager

Wirral Council

0151 666 3536

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Dave rimmer left an annotation ()

I cannot for the life of me understand why Tranmere Rovers would want a confidentiality clause in any deal struck up with Wirral Council for sponsorship. Presumably any income derived from MBW would have to be shown in their accounts anyway. So perhaps the way forward is to get hold of a copy of their (Tranmeres) accounts.
MBW are doing themselves no favours.....hands up those who are now even more suspicious than they were before

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

Good Morning,
Thank you for your email below. Council has taken legal advice on your
enquiry and offers you the following response:-

The grounds for refusal of the request were under Section 41 and Section
43 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Mr. Clay argues that Section 41 does not apply because the Council did
not obtain details of the sponsorship fee "from any other person".
Although however the sponsorship fee was obviously agreed between the
Council and Tranmere Rovers, nevertheless it is not artificial to regard
the amount of the sponsorship fee as having been obtained by the Council
from Tranmere Rovers. The fee was the price which Tranmere Rovers
demanded in return for providing benefits to the Council under the
sponsorship agreement. The Club informed the Council of the fee they
would accept and consequently in that sense the information was obtained
from another person and therefore does potentially fall within the
meaning of Section 41.

Tranmere Rovers have never given their consent to the disclosure
of the amount of the sponsorship fee which they reasonably
regard as commercially sensitive.
Yours Sincerely
Jane Corrin
Information Manager
Wirral Council

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