Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

I would like to submit an FOI request in relation to the following contract:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov....

For the contract award, would you be able to provide me with the original Invitation to Tender (ITT), as well the written response of the winning supplier, and any additional documents relating to the supplier's response (including feedback on supplier responses)?

If this is outside the scope of the FOIA, or if the time required to answer the full request exceeds the limit specified, please answer what you can and advise and assist on the best way to uncover the remaining information.

Yours faithfully,
John Smith

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of HM Revenue and Customs's handling of my FOI request 'Tender details - tender_150848/642086'.

Thank you for your prompt response to our request. I would like to refine my initial request and ask for a redacted version of the supplier responses to the technical questions in the ITT. I recognise the requirement to remove personal information contained within this and of course, anything that is genuinely commercially sensitive such as day rates or anything patentable. However, there is precedence for such a request being successful as seen in the case of Hugh Mills v Information Commissioner EA/2013/0263, (2 May 2014). The tribunal considered the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption, and concluded these factors “should be given less weight than those in favour of disclosure particularly because no individual confidential information of existing suppliers is being requested.” In this case, the complainant requested documentation from the Western Health & Social Care Trust about a tender process between the Trust and domiciliary care providers. He specifically requested documents on how the Trust decided on the advertised maximum hourly price. The Tribunal found that disclosure would be likely to prejudice the Trust’s commercial interests and went on to consider the public interest balance. It outlined the following factors in favour of disclosure, which also align with the arguments for my request:

1. It would inform the public of the activities carried out on their behalf, allowing for more user involvement and collaborative decision-making.
2. It would enable the public to better scrutinise the public monies spent.
3. It would ensure an open and transparent tender process.
4. It would show that the Trust followed a fair and transparent process to calculate the ceiling rate.
5. It would help to ensure clarity around fairness, equity, value for money and quality of care in the overall tender process.
6. Disclosure of the disputed information to potential bidders would lead to better value for money for the Trust.

The HMRC cannot rely on the argument that the requested information could have an inhibiting effect on third parties currently, or potentially doing business with the government. Clause 7.7 of the HMRC Tendering Instructions informed bidders that [information submitted to HMRC may be subject to disclosure to a third party in response to a Freedom of Information Act request]. Since the bidders agreed to continue with the ITT process, they have also agreed and given approval for the department to share the information they provided in the ITT.

I urge you to recognise that there is a public interest in the disclosure of information relating to the competitive tendering process to facilitate accountability, transparency, and fairness. In that light, I also ask HMRC to provide me with a copy of their public interest test assessment for my records.

I hope my above reasons provide more evidence for the release of the redacted supplier ITT responses. I look forward to your response in the near future.

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

Yours faithfully,

John Smith