Energy contracts 441/2025

FOI Reference: 441/25

Request:

1. I am writing to request the contact details of the person or department responsible for managing your organisation’s energy contracts and procurement.
2. provide a copy of a recent electricity and gas bill (redacted where necessary) for review.

Response 1:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.

Police And Crime Commissioner For Dyfed-Powys

Police Headquarters

P O Box 99

Dyfed

SA31 2PF

Response 2:

Section 43(2) exemption applies

Explanation of the applied exemption:

Section 43(2) - Commercial Interests

“(2) Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).”

This is a qualified and class based exemption. As a class based exemption, legislators have already accepted the harm in release of this class of information. As a consequence, there is no requirement to evidence the harm in disclosing such information. However, as the exemption is a qualified exemption there is a requirement to apply the public interest test, as detailed below.

Factors favouring disclosure

There is a strong public interest in ensuring that public money is spent correctly and disclosing this information would adhere to the basic principles of openness and transparency.

Factors favouring non-disclosure

Dyfed-Powys Police would never knowingly breach the terms of any contract held with a supplier as it would destroy the current relationship with that supplier and could potentially lead to legal proceedings being taken against the Force.

In addition, any disclosure of information via FOI is essentially a disclosure to the world. Attempts by applicants to access information of this nature from Dyfed-Powys Police and other Forces could conflate the potential harm caused.

Balance Test

Whilst Dyfed-Powys Police recognise the importance of remaining open and transparent with public, this must be weighed against the terms of any current contracts the Force holds with relevant suppliers, its’ ongoing relationships with those suppliers and the fact that unnecessary or unauthorized disclosure of confidential material would hand a competitive advantage to other suppliers of similar products or compromise the commercial position of Dyfed-Powys Police. It is therefore, our opinion that balance lies in favour of non-disclosure at this time.

Under our Section 16 obligation to be as helpful as possible, you may find the following historic responses:

https://www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/foi-ai/dyfed-powys-police/disclosure-2024/may/electricity-and-gas-consumption-4702024/

https://www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/foi-ai/dyfed-powys-police/disclosure-2025/april/electricity-and-gas-usage-3272025/                                       

It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 28/04/2025)