Promise Partnership Fund: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202300380835

Details of and/or a copy of the agreement between the Scottish Government and the Corra Foundation re the Promise Partnership Fund and the Corra Foundation role in distributing all funds, on behalf of the Scottish Government, connected to the Promise.

Details of the tendering process to be the organisation charged with the distribution of funds for the Promise Partnership Fund. This should include the initial call for tenders, the number of applications, the criteria for success, the payment given to the Corra Foundation by the Scottish Government and why the Corra Foundation was chosen as the organisation to act on behalf of the Scottish Government re the Promise Funds.

Details of the total amount of Scottish Government funding given to the Corra Foundation to distribute on behalf of the Scottish Government. This should be broken down by the total funds provided for each year since it started distributing funds.

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for:

• Details of a copy of the agreement between the Scottish Government and the Corra Foundation re the Promise Partnership Fund and the Corra Foundation role in distributing all funds, on behalf of the Scottish Government, connected to the promise.
• Details of the tendering process to be the organisation charged with the distribution of funds for the Promise Partnership Fund. This should include the initial call for tenders, the number of applications, the criteria for success, the payment given to the Corra foundation by the Scottish Government and why the Corra Foundation was chosen as the organisation to act on behalf of the Scottish Government re the Promise Funds.
• Details of the total amount of Scottish Government funding given to the Corra Foundation to distribute on behalf of the Scottish Government. This should be broken down by the total funds provided each year since it started distributing funds.

I have concluded that the original decision should be confirmed, with modifications.

In all cases where redactions were made due to exemptions of 38 (1) (b) of FOISA (data relating to third party), I have confirmed the original decision. This means that I am not enclosing the following documents, since these are unchanged from the versions you received in your original response:

• PPF - Grant letter - 2021 - Jan 2021
• Successful and contract award letter 10 September 21
• PPF 2022-23 grant award letter to Corra foundation
• Contracts - Promise Partnership Fund - ITT Final - 30 November 2021

In other documents, in cases where redactions were made due to section 33 (1) (b) of FOISA (commercial interests) and 30 (b) (ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) I have at times released information that was previously redacted.

The exemptions are, as you know, subject to the 'public interest test'.

In some cases, I have come to a different view from that reached previously, when balancing the public interest in disclosing the information against the public interest in applying the exemption. These cases are set out below.

I am disclosing one briefing document about the decision to have a non-competitive action, relating to the financial year 2021-22, for procuring the contract for the Promise Partnership Fund.

I am also disclosing most of another briefing document on the decision to have a non-competitive action. This document had previously been withheld under section 30 (b) (ii). I have taken the view that disclosing most of the document would not be likely to inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views by officials in the future. There are however some short sections relating to financial estimates where I have upheld the original finding that disclosure would be likely to have an inhibiting effect, since it relates to provisional financial estimates based on initial information. I think that provision of those estimates could be inhibited, if they were regularly disclosed – and there is a public interest in officials feeling able to provide this sort of advice. For some short sections of the note, I have taken the view that this public interest outweighs the public interest in disclosure, which relates to the benefits of openness and transparency and understanding government decision making.

In addition, I have considered three other documents which were originally withheld in their entirety. These are the individual score sheets for the procurement exercise. I am releasing some sections of those, but have redacted personal information under exemption (38(1)(b). I have also redacted specific information about Corra under exemption 30(c) (substantial prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs). In doing so, I have taken the view that releasing detailed scores and comments in tender exercises could prejudice the effective conduct of such exercises in future, by making officials more reluctant to make detailed comments or criticisms. I have gone on to consider the public interest test and - although there is a public interest in releasing information about contracts for reasons of openness, transparency and accountability - I think that in this case, it is outweighed by the importance of ensuring that tender exercises operate effectively.

I think that some sections of the score sheets might also fall under exemption 33(1)(b) since they provide detailed information about Corra which could be disadvantage Corra in future tenders. However the exemption that I have applied, when redacting the material, is 30(c).

Finally, I have disclosed additional information in three documents, which had previously been withheld under 33 (1) (b) of FOISA. In those cases, I have taken the view that information which had previously been withheld is not likely to cause substantial prejudice to commercial interests. Those are:

• The PPF contract with Corra - the total per annum costs, together with some additional text, have been disclosed at sections 4 and 5 of schedule 2 of the Promise Partnership Fund Contract. in addition, some sections of the Executive Summary of the original tender (Schedule 12) have now been disclosed.
• The sourcing strategy- named "Contract- Promise Partnership Fund - 30 November 2021” in the original release. The names of some companies identified as potential bidders have been released.
• CSPGD Contracts Promise Partnership Fund - CARR (Contract Award Recommendation Report) - 3 December 2022. The names of other bidders have been disclosed. In addition, there were some places in the original release where - due to a formatting error - terms such as "insert contract title" and "insert supplier name" were accidentally used in place of the actual contract title and supplier name. Those mistakes have been corrected.

There are also sections in these documents where I have upheld the original finding to withhold information.

In deciding to withhold some information, I have taken the view that the information’s release would substantially prejudice the commercial interests of Corra. That is because the documents provide detailed information about Corra’s tender, and about how it markets itself as an organisation. Releasing this information would be likely bring an advantage to Corra’s competitors, and a disadvantage to Corra.

I have also applied the appropriate public interest test, and have balanced the factors in favour of release against those in favour of withholding the information. I recognise the public interest in disclosure for reasons of accountability and transparency. However, there is also a strong public interest in ensuring that companies are not disadvantaged – through the release of sensitive commercial information -as a result of their decision to work with the Scottish Government. This would potentially deter organisations from bidding for contracts, and could harm the Scottish Government’s ability to secure value for money. In the sections that I have continued to redact, I have taken the view that this public interest, outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202300385842 - Information released - Annex

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165 page PDF

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1.8 MB