FOI request (FOIR-561948412)

Hastings Council Budget Consultation

Requested Tue 14 November 2023
Responded  Thu 30 November 2023

Please note the urgency. I would like the answer to the following questions in time to submit a response to the current budget consultation. That is, in time for me to meet your deadline of 1st December 2023.

Hastings Council Budget Consultation

1. On page 3 of the budget consultation document it states: opportunities will be explored in a constructive way to capture the benefits of more collaborative working with others in the public, private, not for profit and voluntary and community sector and we have already had positive discussions with potential partners. Could you provide the documents (notes, reports, and emails) the author(s) used to (a) come to the conclusion that on this issue the council had had 'positive discussions' with potential partners (b) any document which identifies (as far as possible) who these partners are?

2. Later in the consultation document on page 6 and 7 it states that fourteen Year 1 priorities for exploring potential for sharing are listed. Could you please provide the documents used by the author(s) to arrive at this list?

3. Lawfulness. Could you please provide any document used by the Council to gauge the lawfulness of the Council's proposal to share duties, powers and functions with other statutory or non-statutory bodies?

Response

1. NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The information requested is being refused under Section 22 - Information intended for future publication.

The information you have requested regarding communications with potential partners will be shared with the public if/when negotiations have been finalised.

The exemption afforded by Section 22 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) correspondence and communications are confidential whilst discussions are held.

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.

2. Information not held.

3. Information not held.