Details required of Vehicle Recovery contract for the Police

Summary

A request for details on the Vehicle Recovery contract tender process and agreement for the Isle of Man Constabulary was initially rejected by the Department of Home Affairs as they did not hold the information, but a subsequent response provided the tender advertisement dates and attached the service specification.

Key Facts

• The Department of Home Affairs initially stated they did not hold the requested information and directed the requester to the Isle of Man Constabulary.
• A follow-up response confirmed the tender was advertised on 15 November 2019 for a two-week Expression of Interest period.
• Tender notices are published on the Isle of Man Government procurement webpage and the Attorney General Chamber's Twitter account.
• The service specification used in the tender process was attached to the response as Annex 1.
• The Department of Home Affairs and the Isle of Man Constabulary are independent bodies for the purpose of FOI requests.

Data Disclosed

• 1986085
• 10 September 2021
• 15th November 2019
• two weeks
• 7 October 2021
• IM2 5AP
• 01624 694313
• 01624 621298

Original Request

I would like to have details of the tender process and the final contract agreement in place for Vehicle Recovery services contracted by the Isle of Man Constabulary. I wish to see the scale of charges and terms of engagement which have been agreed and any information pertaining to the transfer of liability of costs to other parties. I would also like to see details of how the process of invoicing is handled between the Contract holder and the IOM Constabulary.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Chief Executive's Office DHA Headquarters Tromode, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 5AP

Telephone: (01624) 694313 Fax: (01624) 621298 Web address: www.gov.im/dha Email: GeneralEnquiries.DHA@dha.gov.im

Our ref: 1986085 10 September 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 10 September 2021 and which states:

"I would like to have details of the tender process and the final contract agreement in place for Vehicle Recovery services contracted by the Isle of Man Constabulary. I wish to see the scale of charges and terms of engagement which have been agreed and any information pertaining to the transfer of liability of costs to other parties. I would also like to see details of how the process of invoicing is handled between the Contract holder and the IOM Constabulary."

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested.

However, you may wish to contact Isle of Man Constabulary who may be able to help you.

Please note that for data protection and Freedom of Information requests the Isle of Man Constabulary is independent from this Department, and you should direct your enquiries to the Isle of Man Constabulary directly at the following link: https://www.iompolice.im/footer/corporate/freedom-of-information/ Please quote the reference number 1986085 in any future communications to this Department.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper

version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Chief Executive's Office DHA Headquarters Tromode, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 5AP

Telephone: (01624) 694313 Fax: (01624) 621298 Web address: www.gov.im/dha Email: GeneralEnquiries.DHA@dha.gov.im

Our ref: 1986085 7 October 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 10 September 2021 and which states:

"I would like to have details of the tender process and the final contract agreement in place for Vehicle Recovery services contracted by the Isle of Man Constabulary. I wish to see the scale of charges and terms of engagement which have been agreed and any information pertaining to the transfer of liability of costs to other parties. I would also like to see details of how the process of invoicing is handled between the Contract holder and the IOM Constabulary."

In accordance with your request, please find below response to each point of your request: 1. "I would like to have details of the tender process “

All new tender notices are advertised through the relevant Isle of Man Government
webpage www.gov.im/procurement and the Attorney General Chamber’s Twitter account, plus any other outlet that the commissioning Department requests. This specific tender was advertised through the above process on the 15th November 2019 for two weeks which is the Expression of Interest period. An automatic email is then generated for those already registered on the Portal and linked to the relevant business category attached to the tender. The Department also holds the service specification that was used in the above tender process. This is attached to this response as Annex1. 2. "I would like to have details of […] the final contract agreement in place for Vehicle Recovery services contracted by the Isle of Man Constabulary. I wish to see the scale of charges and terms of engagement which have been agreed and any information pertaining to the transfer of liability of costs to other parties.

While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the information relating to the above part of your request is exempt from disclosure under sections 30(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.

Economy and Commercial Interests The terms of the contract agreement are exempt from disclosure under section 30 of the Act, which relates to economy and commercial interests. The reasons why this exemption applies are as follows: Section 30(2)(b) is a prejudice-based exemption, only applying in instances where harm to the economy would or would be likely to occur. We are satisfied that disclosing the information would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the public authority holding it). Our consideration of prejudice and its likelihood of occurring, in respect of section 30(2)(b), is that disclosure of the agreement details may cause harm to the commercial interests of the current contractor and any other contractor who may tender for similar service provision in the future. Section 30 of the Act is a qualified exemption and therefore subject to a public interest test. In assessing where the public interest lies, the following factors have been considered: Factors in favour of disclosure: • Transparency and openness by disclosing the information; • Demonstrates to third parties the amount charged by the contractor when an insurance company is not involved in a vehicle recovery; • Shows transparency in the charging regime between the contractor and an individual; and • Demonstrates that the procurement process was undertaken in a fair and open way.

Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption: • The contract contains pricing schedules that formed a considerable weighting in the award of the contract. • Open knowledge of these prices would negatively influence the fairness or validity of future procurement exercises. • Commercial sector may lose faith in bidding for other contracts if they feel that the content of their bids will be publicised (disclosure of information could lead to more than just a small change in investor confidence). • The need to protect the commercial interests of the private sector, which plays an important role in the general health of the economy. Impact High • The Contractor has stated that contract itself is commercially confidential and were it to be released, they believe it would hinder their attempts to partake in government tender processes. Impact Severe In taking these factors into account the Department of Home Affairs determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

1. I would also like to see details of how the process of invoicing is handled between the Contract holder and the IOM Constabulary." The information relating to the above part of your request is exempt from disclosure under sections 20(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015. Information accessible to applicant by other means Under section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, the information that you have requested regarding the process for invoicing is set out in the Isle of Man Government Financial Regulations which are available at: https://www.gov.im/media/1366335/financial-regulations-1-july-2020.pdf
   Please quote the reference number 1986085 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im.

Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.