Member Article

Private finance initiatives and freedom of information

Private Finance Initiatives (“PFI”) bring the public and private sectors together to complete projects that could not be financially afforded out of the public purse alone. However, in one case concerning a £46 million tourist attraction in a seaside town, a prudent balance had to be struck between commercial confidentiality and the freedom of information.

In this case, the local council loaned £36 million to a single purpose company that developed a high viewing tower as a tourist attraction. The remaining finance was provided by a private sponsor. A member of the public had requested full disclosure of a detailed consultancy report that informed of the council’s decision to enter into this particular PFI. That request was upheld by the Information Commissioner’s Office on the basis that the public interest in disclosure outweighed any potential damage to commercial interests.

In allowing the Council’s appeal against that ruling, the First-tier Tribunal noted that the information sought included pricing information in a highly competitive market and detailed projections of visitor numbers, profits, staffing requirements and overhead costs. Although a large sum of public money was involved in the loan, there was a powerful public interest in transparency. It was held that the council and the company would suffer grave commercial disadvantages from full disclosure.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Linda Heyworth .