Freedom of Information Request: 0432
I would be grateful if you could send me the following documents (under FOI legislation):
- Copies of all reports, analyses (including but not limited to gap analyses), evaluations (including but not limited to market overviews), strategy documents, terms of reference, project plans, and meeting and teleconference minutes held or produced by the Trauma Management MedTech Co-operative on the subject of impedance spectroscopy devices.
Trauma Management MedTech Co-operative is working with one company where the subject is a device using impedance spectroscopy. The Trust does hold the contacts and discussion of the details of this project. However, we are withholding this information, under exemption 43 (commercial interests) of the Freedom of Information Act: The Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).
The Trust does hold the information requested.
Section 43(2) (Commercial Interests)
Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and is subject to the public interest test. This means that not only does the information have to prejudice one of the purposes listed, but before the information can be withheld, the public interest in preventing that prejudice must outweigh the public interest in disclosure.
Public Interest Test
Considerations in favour of disclosure:
- The public need to know that we are spending public money wisely and getting best value, without fear or favour.
- The need for public authorities to be transparent in their dealings.
Considerations against disclosure:
- Disclosing this information would likely reveal the identity of the organisation we are working with.
- The information requested contains commercially sensitive information that is covered by existing confidentiality agreements. Therefore, it could weaken the Trust’s position as potential partners would not have confidence that the Trust would keep sensitive data private.
- Releasing the information in Schedule 3(a) would likely result in prejudice to the commercial interests of the Trust and the organisation we are working with.
Conclusion:
The Trust recognises that there is a public interest in the disclosure of information which facilitates the accountability and transparency of public bodies for decisions taken by them. However, having undertaken the balancing exercise, the Trust has concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the requested information having regard to the effect that the disclosure of the information would not be in the public interest.
Given that the definition of ‘public’ under the Act is considered to be the public at large, rather than just the individual applicant or a small group of people and that ‘public interest’ is not necessarily the same as what interests the public, it is considered that to release this sensitive information into the public domain is likely to result in prejudice to the commercial interests of both the Trust and the organisations it is collaborating with which is not outweighed by the wider public interest for disclosure.
Although we are withholding the information requested this project has reached a stage where a publically available document has been produced. This document is available at https://www.traumamic.nihr.ac.uk/case-studies/case-study-1/.
- Copies of all reports, analyses (including but not limited to technical analyses and gap analyses), evaluations (including but not limited to market overviews), strategy documents, terms of reference, project plans, and meeting and teleconference minutes held or produced by the Trauma Management MedTech Co-operative on the subject of devices or instruments or software platforms for the assessment or management of brain or head injury.
Trauma Management MedTech Co-operative is currently working with six companies at various stages of development on projects within the area of brain or head injury. For the same reasons outlined in question 1, we are withholding this information, under exemption 43 (commercial interests) of the Freedom of Information Act.
