Freedom of information response

1. Please see enclosed 3 attachments
2. There were no records held to meet this part of your request

Information we are unable to supply

Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act

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 or organisation’s ability to successfully participate in a commercial activity, i.e. the purchase and the sale of goods or services.

The Council are of the view that the release of the full information in scope of your request would prejudice its own commercial interests and the commercial interests of the other parties involved. The reasons for this have been captured below under the public interest test section.

Public Interest Test:

The Council have considered the public interest test in relation to section 43 (2) in releasing the information in scope of your request. The outcome of this is below.

Public interest in disclosure:

• It would inform the public of the activities carried out on their behalf and to scrutinise public monies spent
• It would inform the public of the business rationale behind the investment opportunities at the time they were made
• It would inform the public of the investment/return and cover actions which were being considered to remedy matters

Public interest to maintain the exemption:

• Disclosure of information would result in other companies that offer similar investments not wanting to work with the Council due to commercially sensitive information being released by the Council with regards to prior investments. This will have a negative impact on the Council's ability to seek suitable investment deals going forward.
• Disclosure of information would have a detrimental impact on the commercial interests of the other parties involved, as this would publicly detail commercially sensitive information. This would damage the Investor’s competitive position.
• Disclosure of information would negatively impact the Councils working relationships with its lenders. This will reduce the spend the Council has (commercial interests), which would directly impact the services we are able to provide to our residents.
• Disclosure of information would negatively impact the Councils reputation due to loss of investor confidence in the council.
• Routine disclosure of investment information is likely to limit competition and engagement on commercial matters with private sector organisations and impact on views on trust/confidence.
• The information was provided on a commercial basis to inform a commercial decision by the Council with an expectation at the time that it was not for broader/sharing/disclosure.
• Disclosure of some of the information requested could have a detrimental impact to potential remedies available to the Council to redress the current financial position. This will reduce the spend the Council has (commercial interests), which would directly impact the services we are able to provide to our residents.

Based on the above, it is the Council’s view that there is a stronger public interest to engage the exemption for section 43 (2). The key reasons for this is as follows:

• Releasing information at this time could have a detrimental impact to potential remedies available to the Council to redress the current financial position.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the council have managed your FOI request you can pursue an Internal Review by contacting us using the above email address. An internal review must be submitted within 40 working days of your original reply. Your request will be considered by a senior member of the Information Management Team who will update you with the outcome of the review.

If you remain unhappy following the outcome of your Internal Review you may wish to refer your case to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and details of this organisation can be found at www.ico.org.uk . Please be advised that the ICO will not consider your case until they have confirmation that you have already been through the Internal Review stage with the council.