Request ID: FOI-0461-2324 Date published: 12 June 2023
You asked
To whom it may concern,
I would like to make a request under the freedom of information act.
I am interested in the procurement process for the detailed design of the Blackwall Tunnel southbound refurbishment works.
Please can you send me all tenders received by TfL for this work?
We answered
TfL Ref: 0461-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 16 May 2023 asking for information about the Blackwall Tunnel.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked: I would like to make a request under the freedom of information act. I am interested in the procurement process for the detailed design of the Blackwall Tunnel southbound refurbishment works. Please can you send me all tenders received by TfL for this work?
TfL carried out a mini-competition through our STIC framework, TfL’s framework for delivery of large complex structures/highways projects let in 2021, to award a two-stage design and build contract for delivery of detailed design and build of the Blackwall Tunnel Southbound Refurbishment. TfL received two bids under the mini-competition and is in the process of awarding to a single contractor. A redacted version of the contract will be published in due course.
In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the tenders requested as they are subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2).
In this instance the section 43(2) exemption has been applied as disclosure of the tenders submitted for this work would or would be likely to prejudice both our commercial interests, as well as those of the bidders who have submitted tenders. The tenders contain details of each companies’ pricing information, as well as the solution they have proposed for our requirement, and while the contract has not yet been awarded disclosure of the tenders would be likely to inhibit our ability to obtain the best value for the public purse, as well as affect the suppliers’ ability to competitively operate within the market if other bidders had access to this information.
The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, particularly where the expenditure of public money is concerned, but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that we are able to obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
