Annual spend on fuel to fill police service vehicles from 2018/19 to 2023/24

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.034064

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. Can I ask what was your force's annual spend on all insurance to insure police service vehicles for the following years: a) 2018/19, b) 2019/20, c) 2020/21, d) 2021/22, e) 2022/23?
2. What is the forces projected spending on insurance for police service vehicles for the financial year 2023/24?
3. What is the force's annual spend on all fuel to fill up police service vehicles for the following years: a) 2018/19, b) 2019/20, c) 2020/21, d) 2021/22, e) 2022/23?
4. What is the force's projected spending on fuel costs for police service vehicles for the financial year 2023/24?

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 43(2) - Commercial Interests

Reason for decision

Question 1 you have asked us to disclose our annual spend on all insurance to insure police service vehicles for the financial years 2018/19 up to 2022/23.

Disclosure of the requested information would prejudice the commercial interests of both our current insurance provider and the MPS, therefore Section 43(2) of the Act, which provides an exemption for information prejudicial to the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it), has been applied to refuse disclosure.

Section 43(2) – Commercial Interests - Disclosing the information you are seeking would undermine our ability to maintain a fair competitive process when tendering for contracts and would compromise the MPS’ ability to achieve best value for money from other commercial contractor’s in future tenders. Disclosure could also unfairly advantage, or disadvantage the current contract holder, and other companies entering the process, when re-tendering for this contract, or when tendering for other contracts with the MPS, in the future.

There is a strong public interest in ensuring that companies are able to compete fairly and it is therefore imperative that there is a fair tendering process.

The disclosure of the information you are seeking would impact on the ability of the MPS to achieve best value for money from other commercial contractor’s in future tenders.

It is not in the public interest for the MPS to be negatively affected in a competitive market. Disclosing the total amount of money that the MPS has paid in insurance premiums, particularly when broken down by year, would provide other companies with sufficient information to allow them to outbid our current contractor, i.e., when the current contract with the MPS approaches renewal, or in the event that other public bodies enter into a tendering process for the same product/services.

There must be a healthy commercial environment to ensure all parties are able to bid fairly and the position of our external contractors to negotiate or to compete in a commercial environment should not be negatively affected as a result of any disclosure under FOIA.

Additionally, if the total amount of money paid for the current contract was released this could lead to other companies lowering the cost of their products/ services when tendering, whereas, their products/services may not be up to the level required. This could lead to other companies, who through disclosure are made aware that their product/service is of interest to the MPS, increasing their prices.

Whilst we must uphold our duties of being transparent this should not be to our detriment, or lead to other companies being disadvantaged.

I acknowledge that the public interest would be satisfied in disclosing how much public money has been spent, and on what, however, this must be balanced against the identified risks. Having considered your request and having examined the associated risks in disclosure, I have found there is a risk to the commercial interests of the MPS, and to the commercial interests of our current vehicle insurance provider. I believe that the risk, as outlined above, is both real and likely.

It is imperative that there is a healthy and fair commercial environment for all companies bidding for contracts. Disclosure would prejudice this fair process and for these reasons the balance test for disclosure is not made out.

Disclosure

Q2 - What is the force's projected spending on insurance for police service vehicles for the financial year 2023/24?

Please be advised that we do not hold projected spending on insurance for police service vehicles for the financial year 2023/24. This is because premiums are paid in advance and the premium for 2023/24 has already been paid.

Q3 - What is the force's annual spend on all fuel to fill up police service vehicles for the following years: a) 2018/19, b) 2019/20, c) 2020/21, d) 2021/22, e) 2022/23?

Financial Year	2018-2019*	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023
Fuel cost (£)	2,303,878	11,391,510	9,547,238	13,035,132	15,296,338

(*) Incomplete due to a database change

Q4 - What is the force's projected spending on fuel costs for police service vehicles for the financial year 2023/24?

Financial Year	2023-2024 (forecast)
Fuel Cost(£)	16,000 000