The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) came into force on 1st January 2005 and established a general right of access to all types of 'recorded' information held by public authorities.
The Act provides a general right of access to information about all public contracts and procurement activity held by public authorities, subject to certain conditions and exemptions. We are committed to open government and to meeting our legal responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act. Accordingly, all information submitted may need to be disclosed in response to a request under the Act. We may also decide to include certain information in the publication scheme maintained under the Act.
This means that we are obliged under the Act, to release certain information about our suppliers, into the public domain, within certain limits and according to relevant exemptions.
The main exemption relevant to procurement is commercial interests, which means trade secrets and information likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority) holding it.
In accordance with the Act, information relating to our current contracts can be found in the current contracts section, but is limited to information which is not deemed to be exempt from the Act. In addition, this information will have usually been released into the public domain already, by way of a contract award notice, when the contract was let.
If you consider that any of the information in your tender is commercially sensitive, please explain (in broad terms) what harm may result from disclosure if a request is received, and the time period applicable to that sensitivity. You should also be aware that, even where you have indicated that information is commercially sensitive, we may be required to disclose it under the Act if a request is received. Please also note that the receipt of any material marked "confidential" or equivalent by us should not be taken to mean that we accept any duty of confidence by virtue of the marking. If a request is received, we may also be required to disclose details of unsuccessful tenders.
Further information relating to the Freedom of Information Act can be found at: