FOI/25/193

Request
 

1. A complete list of agencies currently used by the Trust to supply nursing, care, and healthcare staff. 

This is commercially sensitive, Section 43 Exemption applied. See below

2. Total expenditure on these agencies by the Trust for the financial year 2023-2024. 

Total invoiced spend over these data parameters - £10,828,077

3. A list of any off-framework agencies supplying staff to the Trust during the same period, including their total spend. 

This is commercially sensitive, Section 43 Exemption applied. See below, total spend is as per q 2.

Section 43 – Commercial Interest

Section 43(2) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity). Disclosure of the requested information could prejudice pending or future negotiations the CLCH may be subject to.

 

This is a qualified exemption under the FOIA, which means that consideration must also be given to whether in all the circumstances of the case the public interest favouring disclosure is greater than the public interest in maintaining the exemption. The public interest means what is in the best interests of the public not what is of interest to the public.

 

Factors in favour of discloser:  

• Disclosing information relating to the value of the rent charged would benefit the public interest by encouraging transparency. 
• Disclosing information relating to [A complete list of agencies currently used by the Trust to supply nursing, care, and healthcare staff / A list of any off-framework agencies supplying staff to the Trust during the same period, including their total spend] would promote accountability and transparency by showing how CLCH receive and spend public money. 

 

Factors in favour of non-disclosure: 

• Disclosing the [A complete list of agencies currently used by the Trust to supply nursing, care, and healthcare staff / A list of any off-framework agencies supplying staff to the Trust during the same period, including their total spend] would undermine our competitive position in the marketplace. 
• Disclosing the [A complete list of agencies currently used by the Trust to supply nursing, care, and healthcare staff / A list of any off-framework agencies supplying staff to the Trust during the same period, including their total spend] would compromise the commercial activities of CLCH, as it would compromise its ability to negotiate competitive future deals.
• Disclosure of the [A complete list of agencies currently used by the Trust to supply nursing, care, and healthcare staff / A list of any off-framework agencies supplying staff to the Trust during the same period, including their total spend], is likely to lead to reputational and financial damage which would affect future investments and have a knock-on effect to the money raised for the health economy.

Having considered the above, we maintain that the factors in favour of upholding the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure. Therefore, the balance of the public interest test is greater in maintaining the exemption available under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.