Grant Thornton Report

Summary

The request sought confirmation on whether Grant Thornton was appointed via competitive tender for a DfT inquiry and details on the process and cost. The Office of Fair Trading confirmed Grant Thornton won a 'quick tender' as the sole bidder and disclosed the total payment amount.

Key Facts

• Grant Thornton submitted a successful tender bid to conduct the investigation and produce a report.
• The contract was advertised through the Isle of Man Government's 'Quick Quote' online procurement portal.
• There were no other bids submitted for the contract.
• The decision to engage an independent consultant was influenced by the complexity of the investigation and the need to expedite it.
• The final report produced by Grant Thornton was approved by the board of the Office of Fair Trading.

Data Disclosed

• 2022-03-22
• 2022-04-04
• 2022-02-22
• March 2021
• £36,000
• 2340173
• page 325

Original Request

1. Confirmation as to whether or not the Auditors, Grant Thornton, referred to in an article in the Manx Independent headed "Minibus service 'does not threaten taxis', were given the contract as independent consultants to the DfT inquiry, after a competitive tender. 2. If Grant Thornton did win the competitive tender, how many other applicants were there for the contract ? 3. If Grant Thornton didn't obtain the contract after a competitive tender, why was the contract not put out to tender? 4. How much was Grant Thornton paid?".

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Office of Fair Trading Thie Slieau Whallian Foxdale Road, St John's, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS Telephone: (01624) 685854 Fax: (01624) 686504 email: iomfairtrading@gov.im

Our ref: 2340173 4th April 2022

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 22nd March 2022 and which states:

"1. Confirmation as to whether or not the Auditors, Grant Thornton, referred to in an article in the Manx Independent headed "Minibus service 'does not threaten taxis', were given the contract as independent consultants to the DfT inquiry, after a competitive tender. 2. If Grant Thornton did win the competitive tender, how many other applicants were there for the contract ? 3. If Grant Thornton didn't obtain the contract after a competitive tender, why was the contract not put out to tender? 4. How much was Grant Thornton paid?"."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you. Question 1. Grant Thornton submitted a successful tender bid to conduct the investigation and produce a report. Further Information Extract from Hansard – House of Keys, Tuesday 22nd February 2022 (page 325) “In March 2021, after seeking the views of relevant officers, the head of the OFT took the decision to engage an expert independent consultant to assist officers of the OFT in conducting the investigation and producing a report based on stated terms of reference to reviewing, analysing and augmenting the information already gathered by those officers. The decision was primarily influenced by the extensive nature and complexity of the investigation, but also the need to expedite it in the following significant ways. To this end, a quick tender was undertaken, with the successful tenderer being Grant Thornton Ltd. Notwithstanding that the report on this investigation was produced by Grant Thornton, it has been approved by the board of the OFT.” Question 2. Grant Thornton won the tender which was advertised through the Isle of Man Government’s ‘Quick Quote’ online procurement portal. There were no other bids.

Question 3. The contract was put out to tender and Grant Thornton won the tender. There were no other bids. Question 4. Grant Thornton was paid £36,000 + VAT. Please quote the reference number 2340173 in any future communications.

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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. Yours sincerely