Workplace closure consultation/FOI Denial

[gs78ne]

Hi,
Wondering if anyone can help, my workplace is under a proposal to be closed. When the public consultation was taking place I requested FOI for figures for our workplace to confirm the accuracy of the figures they are using to close us they went over the 20 working days for a reply to my request and are now quoting Section 43 of the FOI

Section 43(2) of the Act sets out an exemption from the right to know if:
• release of the information is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person. (A
person may be an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal
entity.)

So it seems I cannot get any figures to confirm/challenge the ones they are using in the proposal to close our building.

Many thanks in advance

[Tools]

Re: Workplace closure consultation/FOI Denial

Is this a public office?

Has redundancy or alternative employment been discussed?

Are you a member of any Union that has been party to the proposal?

[teaboy2]

Re: Workplace closure consultation/FOI Denial

As tools asked - Is it a Public Office? i.e. local authority, government department etc.

If its not and its a private sector company/employer then the Freedom of Information Act does not apply to them, and as such they will be under no legal obligation to provide the information you requested.

[gs78ne]

Re: Workplace closure consultation/FOI Denial

Hi,

Thanks for the replies, yes it is the local authority I work for. An alternative has only just been announced in working in partnership with a private business, to which I have only heard..(as nothing has really been discussed official) that we maybe on secondment to the company for a year, with our original building to close.
We are self funding as we generate income, which I have access to those figures, but as I said I was trying to confirm the figures that are being used to propose our closure. Which will either put my mind at ease by understanding where our income is going, or that the facts/figures that are being used to close our building.
I've spoken to Unison who were very interested as there has been no mention of the possibility of the private companys' involvement in any part of the public consultation, or that any figures are not being released due to it being a consultation period.

[enquirer]

Re: Workplace closure consultation/FOI Denial

It is difficult to see how the commercial interests of a Local Authority could be prejudiced by the disclosure of this information. If it's embarassing for some of their 'commercial partners' ... enough said.

Send it back to them with a request for an internal review (they have to do this). In your covering letter, include a reason why disclosure is in the public interest.

If they still won't play ball, then you can refer the request to ICO (the Office of the Information Commissioner) for review and decision.

The fact that there is a 'public consultation', yet they won't disclose crucial information, shows a lack of transparency and is indicative of a lack of commitment to the consultation process.

[gs78ne]

Re: Workplace closure consultation/FOI Denial

This is part of the reply I received (which I have edited)

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your information request received on *****. Under the Freedom of Information Act, public authorities are allowed to aggregate two or more requests if they are from the same requester and relate to the same or similar information within a period of 60 consecutive working days. All of the above requests are similar in nature and therefore I am writing to you in response to all of them.

The information you have requested in all of the above requests is being withheld as it falls under the exemption Section 43 (Commercial Interests) of the Freedom of Information Act.

Section 43(2) of the Act sets out an exemption from the right to know if:
• release of the information is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person. (A
person may be an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal
entity.)

I can confirm that the Council does hold information falling within the terms of your
requests.

The Council is currently undertaking a review as part of the ***** budget cut recommendations, which involves the proposed closure of the ********. At present the Council is in discussion with a third party regarding the future of ****** subject to ongoing commercial negotiations. The discussions that are currently underway are being conducted on the basis that parties can have open talks with a view to meeting a possible agreement in a confidential environment.

Whilst the Council has released some financial information pertaining to the ****** such as the total running costs and the savings that can be made by its closure, the information you have requested is substantially more detailed specifically relating to a breakdown of those costs and any income generated. This information has not been publicly disclosed and confidentiality in this case is designed to protect the Council's own interests and its statutory duty to carry out any commercial negotiations.

Public Interest Test

In applying this exemption we have had to balance the public interest in withholding the information against the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Council acknowledges that there is a public interest in transparency in relation commercial negotiations and that disclosure would enable the public to see that the Council is securing the best value and acting in the best interests of the public purse.

However, the Council also has a duty to protect public money and is protecting its legitimate economic interest as disclosure of the information could harm its ability to negotiate best value.

The Council has decided that there is a strong public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the requested information during ongoing negotiations. The Council also concludes that disclosure of the information before negotiations have ceased may damage trust between the Council and any third party and ultimately have an impact on the Council's commercial activity.

[gs78ne]

Re: Workplace closure consultation/FOI Denial

Update :
We have still not been told officially we are closing or that our jobs are being TUPED, but just found out this evening the company the council wish to possibly TUPE us (when they tell us) has operated at a loss according Companies house for previous years.
What are my options with this ?

Many thanks in advance