FOI request detail

LOHAC audits and costs

Request ID: FOI-1630-1718
Date published: 29 November 2017

You asked

TfL Ref: FOI-2318-1617. Please provide the current information - the schedule of rates and information for each contractor please send me all reports, requests, questions & answers, reviews, considerations, investigations and associated / like information that relates to your consideration of your street maintenance contractors over the past 2 years. this i anticipate will be the last audits of each.

We answered

TfL Ref: FOI-1630-1718

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 26 September 2017 asking for information about LOHAC audits and costs.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our Information Access Policy. You asked:

TfL Ref: FOI-2318-1617

Please provide the current information - the schedule of rates and information for each contractor please send me all reports, requests, questions & answers, reviews, considerations, investigations and associated / like information that relates to your consideration of your street maintenance contractors over the past 2 years. This I anticipate will be the last audits of each.

Under Section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.

We have estimated that it will exceed more than 100 hours to locate, retrieve and compile all reports, requests, questions & answers, reviews, considerations and investigations you requested as this would include every piece of information anyone at TfL holds in connection with the LoHAC contractors for the last 2 years.

As this overall cost exceeds the £450 limit, we are therefore applying Regulation 5(1) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Please note any further requests that we receive within a 60 working day timeframe may also be subject to consideration under Section 12 of FOI.

Further, in accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the schedule of rates as it is 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 to some of the information as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests our commercial interests, as well as those of the contractors concerned. Prejudice would be likely to occur when these companies compete for tendering opportunities in the future, as their competitive edge would inevitably be prejudiced by disclosure of detailed financial information. There are other companies who provide similar products and disclosure of the price we currently pay could hinder our contractor’s ability to competitively tender for similar contracts in the future as well as hinder our ability to negotiate the best value for money for similar services in the future.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. TfL recognises the need for openness and transparency by public authorities but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that TfL is able to obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes. When looking at disclosure requests for contractual information we have to be mindful of different commercial risks. These include consideration of the likelihood that if detailed pricing information were disclosed it would likely result in a clustering of bids based on previously negotiated payments when we next go out to tender for the same or similar contracts. The commercial interests of the contractors would be prejudiced by disclosure as they compete with other firms for similar works across the country.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Melissa Nichols

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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