Contract register and live details of contracts
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.21.022023
I note you seek access to the following information:
I would like to submit a request for some information from the organisation, in relation to their contract’s register.
The FULL contract register should display all the organisations existing/live contracts I would like the register to display the following columns/headings:
1. Contract Reference -Unique reference number associated with the contract.
2. Contract Title
3. Procurement Category –Please state the category name of the contract, I wish to know the category the contract is under.
4. Supplier Name
5. Spend (Total, Annual or contract value)
6. Contract’s Duration
7. Contract’s Extensions
8. Contract’s Start Date
9. Contract’s Expiry Date
10. Contract Description [Please provide me with as much detail as possible.]
11. Contact Owner (Person that manages the contract register)
12. CPV codes/Pro-Class
Contract Data/API Contact Details
1. Can you also provide me with contact details of the person responsible for the actual contract’s register or someone responsible for API? [Name, Job Title, Telephone, Email Address] At the very least provide me with their actual job title.
(Meaning of API “a set of functions and procedures that allow the creation of applications which access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.”)
Decision
I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 31(a)(b) - Law Enforcement
Section 40 (2)(3) - Personal Information
Reason for decision
Before I explain the reasons for the decisions I have made in relation to your request, I thought that it would be helpful if I outline the parameters set out by the Act within which a request for information can be answered. The Act creates a statutory right of access to information held by public authorities. A public authority in receipt of a request must, if permitted, confirm if the requested information is held by that public authority and, if so, then communicate that information to the applicant.
The right of access to information is not without exception and is subject to a number of exemptions which are designed to enable public authorities to withhold information that is not suitable for release. Importantly, the Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then considered public information and must be communicated to any individual should a request be received.
Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 confirms that information which relates to an identified or identifiable living individual is Personal Data.
Section 40 – Personal Information - the Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for Personal Data and this is known as the section 40 exemption.
Some of the information sought under your Freedom of Information request includes the following which we consider to be Personal Data
- Names of companies and people, that could, if disclosed, identify an individual.
Where the request is seeking access to third party personal data the section 40(2) exemption may be engaged.
In order to apply the Section 40(2) exemption the disclosure of the requested information must satisfy either the first, second or third conditions as defined by subsections 3A, 3B and 4A of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (as amended by Section 58 of the Data Protection Act 2018).
The first condition ensures that the exemption would apply in circumstances where the disclosure of the information would breach any of the Data Protection Act 2018 principles.
There are six Data Protection principles set out in the 2018 act and these can be found at section 34.
In this instance I have decided that the disclosure of the Personal Data would be incompatible with the first Data Protection principle which states that the processing (in this case the disclosure) of the data must be both lawful and fair.
Section 31 Law Enforcement - In order for the exemption provided under Section 31(1) to be engaged in this case, the MPS must show that disclosure under the Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice law enforcement functions, namely Section 31(1)(a) the prevention and detection of crime and Section 31(1)(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
In this case, this exemption has been applied as disclosure of the information requested would prejudice areas within law enforcement such as the detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
Contract references have a direct link to the MPS Repository which obviously holds far more confidential information than just commercial contracts.
The MPS is charged with enforcing the law and preventing and detecting crime. Any information released under the Act which reveals information related to the gathering of intelligence and police strategies and tactics would prejudice the prevention and detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
Release would have the effect of compromising law enforcement processes and would also hinder the ability of the MPS to fulfil its primary aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public.
Disclosure would technically be releasing sensitive operational information into the public domain, which would enable those with the time, capacity and inclination to try and map strategies and tactics used by the MPS and possibly disrupt or counter them. Which in turn would reduce confidence in the MPS and could make people less likely to come forward as witnesses.
The disclosure of this information to the public by the MPS would undermine public trust in the Police and possibly put people at risk of being targeting by criminals. Release of all information would allow those wishing to disrupt police operations to use the information fraudulently, should they be planning any unlawful acts.
Disclosure
We already publish the majority of these details as part of the Govt. Transparency Agenda.
We do not publish the following:
Contract Reference
Procurement Category – information not recorded
Spend (Total or Annual) – as contracts are published soon after they are awarded the spend will be £0. We already publish the maximum value that can be spent instead. Also, we already publish all invoice spend on a frequent basis; look at our website.
https://www.met.police.uk/foi-ai/af/accessing-information/
Contract Duration – by simple arithmetic, this can be worked out from the published start and end dates.
Contract Description [Please provide me with as much detail as possible.] – Information not recorded; we use the contract description as the title, which is already published.
Contact Owner (Full contact details if possible.) – This will never be released for security reasons.
CPV codes/ProClass – Information not recorded