YOUR REF:
OUR REF: FOI/336301 /
Mr Paul Evans
Email: / Date: 26 August 2014
Dear Mr Evans,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST 336301
Thank you for your recent request received 19 August 2014 and actioned under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) in which you requested the following information:
This request follows legal and mandatory legislation under the European Performance of Buildings Directive and specifically T.M44 AirConditioning Assessment certification. Your AirConditioning Assessment Certificates should be readily available at all times and be lodged on the government Landmark database. Failure to have appropriate Certificates will be subject to fines of £300 per building, each week.
Q1. It is a legal requirement that you hold valid AirConditioning Assessments if any building has a total of more than 12kw of air conditioning present. Certificates are valid from 5 years of the issue date. Have you undertaken a T.M44 AirConditioning Assessment?
Q2. Who is the responsible person for ensuring that your buildings are surveyed and assessed, please provide the name, address, email address and telephone number of the responsible person.
Q3. If your T.M44 Certificates are in place, what is their expiry date?
Q4. What was the order value of the works placed with the Company which undertook the work?
Q5. Provide a breakdown of the price per building if available.
Q6. How many Certificates were produced?
Q7. Was the Assessor independent as required under the Regulations?
Q8. Name the Assessor organisation.
Q9. Do you have ISO 14001 Accreditation?
RESPONSE:
I can confirm that Liverpool City Council holds some but not all the requested information.
1) Yes
2) Premises Management Unit
3) 2016 / 2017
In response to points 4, 5 & 8, the City Council can confirm that the information you have requested is exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This information is commercially sensitive and its disclosure into the public domain would reveal our contractor’s pricing structure for this area, thereby placing them at a commercial disadvantage within the marketplace should the these details and pricing structure be released.
Use of Section 43(2) of the FOIA requires the application of a public interest test. The City Council has considered the following public interest arguments in respect of releasing the information:
If the financial details of our contractors were disclosed to the public it would place the organisation at a commercial disadvantage should they take part in any future contracts/negotiations as potential competitors would already be aware of their previous terms and conditions, thus placing them at a commercial disadvantage.
As a result of Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 being a qualified exemption we are required to conduct a public interest test to determine whether or not the public interest in the disclosure of the information requested outweighs the public interest in withholding it.
When considering the public interest test, whilst in this instance primarily concerned with the relevant organisation, the City Council must also consider its own trading reputation. To clarify; if we were to release the information requested future potential partners or organisations may well be apprehensive about entering into contracts and negotiations with the City Council should they feel that, if requested, the contract’s terms and conditions and financial detail may well be made publically available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The effect of such disclosure would be potentially damaging to the City Council as the organisation(s) affected may well look to the City Council for compensation as a result of disclosure which could place the City Council under the threat of legal action.
As a result the public interest in the disclosure of the information you have requested is outweighed by the non-release of the information as the effect of potential legal action associated with disclosure and any damages which may be awarded as a result of those actions could result in the use of public funds to defend or settle any such actions which would not be in public’s interest. Accordingly the City Council believes the public interest arguments in favour of withholding the information outweigh those in favour of releasing it.
6) 27
7) Yes
9) No
In accordance with the application of Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we have not provided all of the information you have requested. As such we are required to serve you with a section 17 notice. Please treat the following as such.
The City Council will consider appeals, referrals or complaints in respect of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, these must be submitted in writing to within 28 days of receiving your response.
The matter will be dealt with by an officer who was not previously involved with the response and we will look to provide a response within 28 working days.
If you remain dissatisfied you may also apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision about whether the request for information has been dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Information Commissioner’s website iswww.ico.gov.uk and the postal address and telephone numbers are:-
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, CheshireSK9 5AF. Fax number 01625 524 510, DX 20819, Telephone 01625 545745.Email – (they advise that their email is not secure)
I trust this information satisfies your enquiry.
Yours sincerely
Ms. Fatima Sharif Ali
Information Officer