Freedom of Information Request: 0596 2019/20
The Trust does hold the information you have requested however we are withholding some of the information for the reasons given below.
Commercial Sensitivity: Annual Spend
Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) provides,
“(2) 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).”
A commercial interest relates to a person’s ability to participate competitively in a commercial activity, with the underlying aim being to make a profit. The information you have requested is the commercial information of a third party and in order to apply Section 43(2), the Trust must satisfy itself that disclosure of the information would, or would be likely to, prejudice or harm the commercial interests of any person (including the Trust).
Disclosure of the information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial activities of a third party, in this case the contractor who provides our Friends and Family Test.
The information you have requested is around the annual value for each contract and disclosure to the world at large would involve placing elements of the providers’ commercial strategy into the hands of their competitors, which would prejudice their commercial interests. Therefore S43(2) of the FOIA is engaged as disclosure of the information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the contractor.
The public interest test
Commercially sensitive information is protected from disclosure by Section 43(2) of the FOIA which is a qualified exemption subject to the public interest test. The Trust considered, in all the circumstance of the case, where the balance of the public interest lies.
Public interest in maintaining the exemption
There is a public interest in protecting the commercial interests of individual companies such as the contractors and ensuring they are able to compete fairly in a commercial environment.
Disclosure of information may cause unwarranted reputational damage to the Trust or the contractors whose information it holds, which may in turn damage its commercial interests through loss of trade.
Revealing information such as contract value can be detrimental to the Trust’s negotiations on future tenders with other providers. If a competitor knows how much the Trust paid for a service then it can exploit this for profit or other gain.
Public interest in disclosing the information
To promote openness and transparency of public expenditure, which would enable the public to better scrutinise how public money is spent.
The balancing exercise
The Trust decided the public interest in maintaining the exemption substantially outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Patient Experience
- Who provides your Friends & Family Test, or is it done in-house?
Combination of in-house and contracted out.
- Do you use a real time reporting tool?
Yes
- When does the contract end?
April 2020
- What is the annual value (£) of contract?
Withheld under S43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act, please see above for full details
- Do you do localised surveys?
Yes
- If so, who do you do use?
Not Applicable, in-house
- How are these surveys delivered?
Online
Paper
- Do you use a real time reporting tool?
No
- When does the contract end?
Not Applicable
- What is the annual value (£) of contract?
Not Applicable
