Transport Scotland consultancy contracts: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/18/00613
Date received: 23 February 2018
Date responded: 12 April 2018

Information requested

1. The number of transport consultancy contracts that you have with supplier organisations and who they are with.

2. The nature of each contract, whether it is a single supplier, multiple supplier, framework or DPS, or if a contract does not exist, the purchasing process for such an ad hoc arrangement

3. The scope of each contract, e.g. general transport consultancy services, consultancy for specific project, general transport modelling consultancy, transport modelling consultancy for specific project

4. The length of each contract and date that each one will expire.

5. The amount of spend with each contracting organisation over the last 12 months 1st Jan 2017 to 31st Dec 2018.

In addition your colleague clarified that "There is an error in the date and it should be 1st Jan 2017-31st Dec 2017".

Response

1. Please find attached an excel spreadsheet copy of our Contracts Database (CoDa) up to the 23 February 2018 which was the date of your original request. There are 55 current contracts that are either a framework or individual contract and additionally there are 108 Call Off Contracts. All of these contracts contain an element of transport consultancy and the contract supplier is identified in each tab.

2. The nature of each contract can also be identified from the spreadsheet specifically whether it is a single supplier or multiple supplier framework, the term 'other' signifies a contract with a single supplier. If a contract does not exist it is not on our spreadsheet. As such there is no purchasing process for a contract that does not exist. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested relevant to the latter part of this question.

3. There is a description of the contract scope in each tab of the spreadsheet.

4. The length of each contract and date that each one will expire is contained within the spreadsheet at columns F & G in the Consultancy Contracts tab of the spreadsheet. You will also find in the Current call offs tab of the spreadsheet, the Call Off Start Date (column E) & Call Off End Date (column F). Please note that the Call Offs on the second tab are contracts called off from the frameworks on the first tab. In addition some Call Offs will continue beyond the end of the relevant framework as per procurement legislation.

5. The spend information you have requested is commercial in confidence information as such. An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (commercial interests) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of the companies or contractors named . Disclosing this information would be likely to give these companies competitors an advantage in future similar tendering exercises, which would substantially prejudice these companies' ability to submit competitive tenders and so could significantly harm their commercial business.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies which enter into, Transport Scotland contracts, to ensure that we are always able to obtain the best value for public money.

However, Transport Scotland publishes monthly reports showing all items of expenditure over £25,000. This can be viewed on our website with the following link:

https ://www .transport .gov .scot/about/expenditure/. For information relating to the calendar year 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2017 this can be found with the following link: https ://www .transport .gov .scot/publications/?publicationtype=37348

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses

Copy of Consultancy Contracts 23 February 2018 (2).xlsx

File type

Excel document

File size

22.9 kB