FOI request (FOIR-530530841)

Corporate Estate Managing Maintenance

Requested Mon 10 July 2023
Responded Fri 04 August 2023

Please can you provide me with information concerning the maintenance of your corporate estate, that is operational buildings, land and any other property (for example, investment) and schools, if they are within your jurisdiction? Not any social housing/dwellings.

1. What type of maintenance management model does your organisation use? For example, managed supply-chain, single hard facilities management and soft facilities management contractor, internal workforce, principal contractor, and so on.

2. Can you provide a list of the approved contractors used?

3. What are the total values of contracts granted?

4. When do these contracts expire?

5. What services are provided in each contract?

6. What procurement method was used? For example, Open ITT, Framework if so, which one?

Response

Hastings Borough Council does not have jurisdiction over schools or social housing.

1. Hastings Borough Council has a Joint Contracts Tribunal measured term contract (JCT MTC 2016 edition) with a local multi-trade building contractor to provide a web-based ordering system and the provision of a minor building works service, for planned, responsive and emergency building works.

2. Refused - please see below.

3. Refused - please see below.

4. The current minor works contract commenced on 1 April 2022 and will run for five years up to 31 March 2027, with five additional 12-month extensions in five single annual increments subject to review and agreement between the parties.

5. Minor planned and responsive building maintenance works and emergency works. Includes main building trades - carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating, plastering, glazing, bricklaying, roofing, groundworks, plumbing, electrical and mechanical building services.

6. Open tendering procurement process managed by the East Sussex Procurement Hub:

https://www.hastings.gov.uk/business-commerce/supplying-council/contract-schedule/

NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The information you have requested in respect of the company name and costs is commercially sensitive and falls under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act - Commercially Sensitive Information - Information prejudicing commercial interests - commercial interest relating to an organisations commercial activity and may include trading activity procurement and relationships with third parties.

The exemption afforded by Section 43 is subject to what is known as the 'public interest test'. When applying the test in a particular case a public authority is deciding whether the public interest is better served by non-disclosure than by disclosure.

Although the Freedom of Information Act does not define 'in the public interest', there is a presumption under Freedom of Information that openness is in the public interest. In applying the public interest test a public authority will take into account the distinction that has been often made by courts between things that are in the public interest, and things that merely interest the public. Where applicants have not identified public interest considerations succinctly or accurately, the public authority has a responsibility under the Act to make their own assessment of the public interest considerations in the particular case.

We have identified the following public interest factors that may be seen as encouraging the disclosure of information:

a) accountability of public spending

We consider these factors to be of limited relevance in relation to the information in question.

Public interest factors seen as encouraging non-disclosure are, generally, the exemptions themselves. In consideration of this matter we came to the following conclusions:

a) ensuring that companies are able to compete for business fairly

b) damage to reputation and/or financial interests

In weighing the factors for and against disclosure we have concluded that the likely benefit to the applicant and the wider public of disclosure is outweighed by the likely prejudice caused by such disclosure and that therefore the public interest is better served by non-disclosure.

For the reasons given above we will not be communicating to you the information you have requested.