Streets Ahead documents

Within the documentation available from this site there are specific Clauses, Schedules and Annexures where information has been partially redacted for commercially sensitivity reasons or where information is the personal data of third parties. There are also certain contract documents which have been redacted in full as noted below:

• Schedule 3 – Service Provider's Method Statements
• Schedule 5 – Base Case (financial model)
• Schedule 31 – TUPE List (details of employees transferred from SCC to Service Provider)
• Schedule 36 – Service Provider's Depot Strategy
• Schedule 40 - Carbon Model  (appendices 1 and 2 only)
• Annexure 2 – Project Documents (finance agreements between the Service Provider and the funders)
• Annexure 14 –Service Provider's Inspection Strategies

The elements of the contract which have been partially redacted will be subject to a five-year review to test whether the redacted information is still commercially sensitive given the passage of time. 

The documents which have been redacted in full are commercially sensitive and are likely to remain so until at least the termination of the contract. This is because they were provided to us by Amey in confidence and show the specific offer or details used to secure the contract and likely prejudice future business activity if disclosed.  We are obliged to keep this information confidential in order to comply with its obligations under the terms of the Streets Ahead contract (including those listed in Schedule 30) and to protect the commercial interests of Amey and ourselves in the future when either party is likely to be involved in negotiating commercial deals.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced guidance on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) which details the considerations required by public authorities when applying exemptions/ exceptions from disclosure in this case we consider the following related to the contract documentation.

Section 43(1) FOI – Trade secrets

Relates to information which is not simply confidential but confers a competitive advantage to the owner and therefore requires specific protection to ensure that organisation loses specific commercial advantage.  An example of a Streets Ahead contract document which includes trade secrets is Schedule 3 - Method Statements which has been redacted in full.

Section 43(2) FOI – Prejudice to commercial interests

A commercial interest includes an organisation’s ability to participate competitively in a commercial activity which can include activities such as procurement, finance, negotiated costs and other activity or information which would prejudice the ability of the organisation to retain a competitive advantage. An example of a Streets Ahead contract document which includes information about the funding of the PFI and pricing is Schedule 5 - Base Case which has been redacted in full.

Section 43 is mirrored in the EIR by regulation 12(5)(e) which protects the confidentiality of commercial information where such confidentiality is provided by law to protect a legitimate economic interest.

Section 40(2) – Personal Information

Further to above we have additionally made certain redactions where information is the personal data of third parties and not considered appropriate for disclosure and likely to lead to a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018. One such document redacted in full is Schedule 31 – TUPE List, which comprises of the personal data of employees who transferred to Amey under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, also known as TUPE.

Section 40 is mirrored in the EIR by regulations 12(3) and 13 which protects personal data from disclosure.