/ Invest NI
Bedford Square
Bedford Street
Belfast
BT2 7ES
Telephone: / 02890698679
Email: /
Our Ref: / FOI 826
Date 27th April 2015
Dear Mr Sholto
Freedom of Information Act 2000
In your email dated 15th April 2015, you expressed dissatisfaction in relation to the decisionregarding your request for information handled under the FOI request referenced above. I can confirm that, in line with FOI process, I have undertaken a review of the original decision on behalf of the organisation.
In line with guidance from the Information Commissioner, this review is an opportunity to make a fresh decision based on the available evidence. During the review process I have considered the documentation associated with your request and have spoken with the relevant Invest NI staff.
In relation to your request for further detail to be provided with regards to questions 1-3, having reviewed the original response, I am content that the information requested has been provided in full.
In terms of question 4, where you ask Invest NI to justify the rationale for providing any grants to Almac Group, the criteria used by Invest NI in deciding whether to fund a project was provided to you within the original response at Annex 4.
For further clarification, it should be noted that the rationale on which a decision whether to support a specific project against this criteria is contained within a ‘casework submission’ document. Each project that received a Letter of Offer for Almac, as detailed in Annex 2, would have gone through this process and been approved at the appropriate delegation level. These casework documents cannot be disclosed under the Freedom of Information legislation for the reason given in Annex 1& 2 of this letter.
Therefore, having considered the details of this case, I am content to uphold the original decision.
If you are unhappy with the results of this internal review, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, who may undertake an independent review.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
William McCulla
Director
Corporate Finance & Property Solutions
Annex 1 – Information not disclosed
43(2) / Information the disclosure of which would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it) / Casework Submission documentation contain commercially sensitive information of restricted availability which could provide the company’s competitors with an insight into the company’s business strategies, operational plans and funding needs.This would likely be commercially damaging to the company should this information be released.
Release of commercially sensitive information could potentially damage Invest NI’s commercial reputation and harm business confidence in the organisation with respect to its responsibility to treat as confidential sensitive business information provided to it by the company.
Also release would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of Invest NI by affecting its bargaining position during contractual negotiations which would result in the less effective use of public money.
FOI 826
ANNEX 2 – PUBLIC INTEREST FACTORS RE EXEMPTION 43
- Sec 43(2)
- Factors in the Public Interest to Disclose:
· The public interest is served by demonstrating accountability for the use of public funds.
- Factors against the Public Interest to Disclose - i.e. maintaining the exemption and withholding the information requested:
· Release of information relating to the activities and aspirations of the company may provide an unfair advantage to the company’s competitors and result in financial loss to the company. It is not in the public interest for private companies to be damaged through the release of information under the Act.
· The public interest has been served by disclosure of the criteria used for deciding whether to fund a project.
- Invest NI Decision
· Having examined the above factors, it is considered that, on balance, would not be in the public interest to disclose the information being withheld under the exemption.