NorthLink income and expenditure: FOI Review

Information requested

Original Request 202600508059

'How much expenditure has Serco NorthLink posted in the last five years of the NIFS3 contract? Please provide a total but provide a breakdown for fuel costs, staff wages, harbour costs, ferry maintenance, gambling licences, alcohol licences, costs/licences regarding the preparation or sale of food (if applicable), costs of food and drink stock, TV licences, TV packages, and anything else that I have missed.'

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for: 'How much expenditure has Serco NorthLink posted in the last five years of the NIFS3 contract? Please provide a total but provide a breakdown for fuel costs, staff wages, harbour costs, ferry maintenance, gambling licences, alcohol licences, costs/licences regarding the preparation or sale of food (if applicable), costs of food and drink stock, TV licences, TV packages, and anything else that I have missed.'

I have been asked to re-examine your request, to decide whether the original response should be confirmed, with or without modifications, as appropriate, or a fresh decision be substituted. I can confirm that I was not involved in the handling or decision-making around the original response. I have considered this case again, and have conducted a comprehensive review of the response, and the reasons behind withholding the requested information.

I have concluded that a different decision should be substituted. I have considered the information requested and I have determined that some information should be disclosed.

Year	Vessel Charter	Fuel Cost
CY1	£5,414,844	£9,470,153
CY2	£5,645,363	£18,379,006
CY3	£5,816,620	£23,480,145
CY4	£6,020,051	£19,390,551
CY5	£6,223,556	£16,032,806

I have given careful consideration to the original response and agree that some of the information should be withheld. However as noted above, I have decided that some of the information should be released, provided below. Fuel and vessel charter costs are directly funded from Transport Scotland to Serco NorthLink Ferries. The breakdown of these costs are:

I apologise that we incorrectly applied section 33(1)(b) to the information provided in the initial response on the grounds that it was commercial information, having reviewed this I can confirm that I have concluded that different exemptions apply to some of that information and that information is now being withheld under section 30(c) (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) and section 17(1)(no information held) of FOISA.

An exemption under section 30(c) of FOISA (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) applies to some the information requested which includes staff costs, harbour costs and maintenance costs Disclosing this information would substantially prejudice our ability to conduct financial assessments of public funds. Disclosing this information, particularly without the consent of the stakeholder (Serco), is likely to undermine their trust in the Scottish Government and will substantially inhibit them providing this information in future.

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 accountable government. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the process of ensuring effective oversight of expenditure of public funds and that the public obtain value for money, ensuring that the Scottish Government is able conduct this aspect of its business effectively.

Disclosing this information would potentially damage the relationship with the Scottish Government and stakeholders and impact the future sharing of information between parties. Disclosing the information publicly would also result in these costs being available to other bidders and risk undermining the tender and bidding process for the next Northern Isles Ferries Service contract.

The Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have asked for, including gambling licences, alcohol licences, costs/licences regarding the preparation or sale of food, costs of food and drink stock, TV licences, TV packages because these relate to Serco Northlink costs and are held by Serco Northlink rather than the Scottish Government. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

About FOI

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