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The Catering Service at Loughborough Town Hall

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Dear FOI Team,

I would be most grateful if you would provide me, under the Freedom of Information Act, details in respect to the contract below.

The Catering Service at Loughborough Town Hall

The details we require are:

• Suppliers who applied for inclusion on each framework/contract and were successful & not successful at the PQQ & ITT stages
• Actual contract values of each framework/contract (& any sub lots)
• Start date & duration of framework
• Is there an extension clause in the framework(s)/contract(s) and, if so, the duration of the extension?
• Has a decision been made yet on whether the framework(s)/contract(s) are being either extended or renewed?
• Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?

Thank you for your help.

Yours sincerely

foi@charnwood.gov.uk, Charnwood Borough Council

Thank you for your information request which is acknowledged.

Please note: Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Council has had to redirect resources to other areas, supporting the community and ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of all residents; therefore, whilst the Council will aim to respond to your request within the 20 working day deadline set out in legislation, due to the current situation this may not be possible.

I have set out below further information regarding the Freedom of Information Act for your information.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.

Yours sincerely
Megan Bilton
Data Protection and Information Security Officer
Charnwood Borough Council
e-mail [Charnwood Borough Council request email]
Tel 01509 634711

The Freedom of Information Act (the Act) gives the public a right of access to information held in recorded form by a public authority. It does not require authorities to create new information or find the answer to a question from staff who may happen to know it. The Council is also required to consider any information released under the Act as if it were being released to the world at large.

The Council will provide the information requested wherever possible, however the Act does set out a number of exemptions that may prevent release of the information to you. If any of the exemptions do apply to the information that you have requested we will not be able to supply it. You will be notified if this is the case with the reasons why we are claiming an exemption and your rights to complain and appeal the decision.

In certain circumstances, the Council may charge a fee to provide the information requested, to cover costs if photocopying and postage for example. If a fee is payable we will inform you of this and you must pay the fee before the information request can be processed further – the 20 working day timetable is suspended until receipt of the fee. The Act also sets out the amount of work that the Council can be required to undertake. If this limit is estimated to be exceeded by your request we can refuse to process the request. If your request exceeds this limit, we will let you know.

If any of the information requested concerns a third party they may be consulted prior to taking a decision whether to release the information to you or not.

We will aim to provide the information to you in the format that you have specified. If you require an alternative format please let me know. Where the format has not been specified the information will be provided by e-mail, or as a paper copy.

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foi@charnwood.gov.uk, Charnwood Borough Council

Dear Mr Smith,

 

Following the above information request I am able to provide the following
information:

The Council publishes a list of its contracts, including the winning
supplier and contract cost - [1]https://data.charnwood.gov.uk/

Using the link above, simply select the finance tab, and select Contract
search.  In the search field enter ‘catering’ and select Contract list in
the Contract search type.

This contract has recently expired, and the Council will soon be looking
to tender for this contract again.  The Town Hall Manager would be the
person responsible for this contract.

The Council has considered your request for the list of unsuccessful
companies, who submitted tenders for the last contract, and concluded that
to provide this information could harm the commercial interests of those
companies.  We have reached this conclusion as providing this data could
damage confidence that customers or potential customers, suppliers or
investors may have in the company.  The Council will therefore exempt
providing this information under section 43(2) of the Freedom of
Information Act.

As Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption, we have also considered whether
the public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public
interest in its disclosure.  The Information Commissioner has suggested
that the factors that would weigh in favour of disclosure would include:

o Furthering the understanding and participation in the public debate of
issues of the day.
o Promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for
decisions taken by them.
o Promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public
money.
o Allowing individuals, companies and other bodies to understand
decisions made by public authorities affecting their lives.
o Bringing to light information affecting public health and safety.

It is our opinion that although the first three of these factors may weigh
in favour of the public interest in disclosing the information, they do
not outweigh that in maintaining the exemption.  Providing the names of
the companies who were unsuccessful in their tender does not provide
transparency as to why they were unsuccessful, and as outlined above may
damage confidence in them, and the commercial way they operate. We can
state that 3 companies submitted tenders for this contract.

If you would like to re-use the information provided, please see the
[2]re-use page on our website

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.  I have outlined
our Freedom of Information Complaints Procedure below should you need to
make use of it.

Yours sincerely,

 

Megan Bilton

Data Protection and Information Security Officer

Charnwood Borough Council

[3][Charnwood Borough Council request email]

01509 634711

 

Charnwood Borough Council Freedom of Information and Environmental
Information complaints procedure

 

Informal Complaints Procedure

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your request has been
handled please contact me, and I will try to resolve your complaint on an
informal basis within 15 working days.

If you are then still dissatisfied with the response, please follow the
formal complaints procedure below.

Formal Complaints Procedure

Put your formal complaint in writing, providing any supporting evidence,
to the Customer Experience Manager at the address noted below, who will
then investigate and respond to your complaint within 20 working days.

If the Customer Experience Manager dealt with your initial request for
information your complaint will automatically be referred to the Head of
Service and / or one of our Strategic Directors for independent
consideration.

Write to: Customer Experience Manager
Charnwood Borough Council
Southfield Road
Loughborough
Leicestershire
LE11 2TU
Telephone: 01509 634596
E-mail: [4][Charnwood Borough Council request email]

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.  Telephone: 0303 123 1113.  Website:
[5]www.ico.gov.uk

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

 

 

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Owen Smith please sign in and let everyone know.