Hello, Could you kindly provide me with a copy of the organisation chart that Vinci Construction (UK) Ltd (t/a Vinci Facilities) submitted with their bid for the PAN TfL Contract - Mechanical and Electrical + Premises and Fabric – Head Office and Surface. And the revised version that they now operate with. Regards

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TfL Ref: 2332-1718

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 20 November 2017 asking for a copy of the organisation chart that Vinci Construction (UK) Ltd (t/a Vinci Facilities) submitted with their bid for the PAN TfL Contract.

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.

However we are not obliged to supply a copy of the organisation chart which Vinci submitted along with their bid because this is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 41 of the FOI Act (information provided in confidence).

In this instance the exemption has been applied as disclosure of the information you have requested was provided to us by Vinci as a requirement of a tender.  The information is not in the public domain as far as we are aware and there was no suggestion that the information would be made public at a later date. Therefore we consider that disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence.

Since section 41 confers an absolute exemption, it is not necessary to consider whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. Even if section 41 did not confer absolute exemption, there would be no special public interest in disclosure of this information that would justify a breach of confidence in this case.

In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply either the organisation chart for Vinci at the time of their bid or their current structure chart as we consider that these 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 to Vinci’s internal; organisational structure as it would be likely to prejudice our commercial interests and those of the tendering companies by reducing their commercial edge.  Companies may be reluctant to submit bids to TfL contracts if they know that their competitors could see their internal structures and reporting lines and that competitors may seek to replicate them to increase their competitiveness against the tendering company.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognize 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 as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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