£1.5m Grant to Montrose Port Authority 2018: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
FOI reference: FOI/18/01595
Date received: 5 June 2018
Date responded: 9 July 2018
Information requested
Internal correspondence and briefings on the following press release from 29 May 2018: https://news.gov.scot/news/port-of-montrose-grant-cuts-thousands-of-lorry-journeys
Response
Please find attached a copy of all of the information you requested. You will see that some of this information has been redacted due to exemptions under exemption(s) under section(s) 33(1)(b) and 38(1)(b). The reasons why these exemptions are applied are explained below.
Reasons for not providing information
An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test.
An exemption(s) under section(s) 33(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. A section 33(1)(b) exemption applies where disclosure would (or would be likely to) prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person or organisation. This exemption applies to this request as the offer letter contains itemised costs which were obtained after a competitive tender exercise was carried out and releasing contractual information including pricing of services/works risks this information being used to gain commercial advantage for any future competitive tender.
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 some public interest in release to demonstrate the fair and rigorous processes used in awarding Scottish Government contracts however this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that any future contracts awarded are done so fairly in line with procurement practices and that no service provider is offered a commercial advantage by obtaining costs or technical information submitted by a competitor.
An absolute exemption applies.
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie such as names/contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
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
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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