Speed awareness courses 515/2024
FOI Reference: 515/2024
Request:
- How much money does dyfed powys police force make from speed awareness courses annually?
- How much are the presenters of the course paid?
- Qualifications do the presenters of the course Need?
- Why has the course been made to be so long?
Response 1:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does not hold the information requested, this is due to the fact that Dyfed-Powys deliver the suite of National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme courses and therefore would not be specific to the Speed Awareness Course.
Response 2:
Section 43(2) exemption applies, (please see the end of the document for an explanation of the applied exemption)
Response 3:
Section 21 exemption applies, (please see the end of the document for an explanation of the applied exemption)
Response 4:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does not hold the information requested, this is due to the fact that the courses are designed by UKROEd.
However, the below has been provided by UKROEd since your request has been received:
The National Speed Awareness course content and duration is determined by UKROEd, the organisation that administers the driver offender scheme. UKROEd works with a team of leading behavioural psychologists and human factor specialists to develop the courses. These specialists undertake research to identify why people speed and what can be done to help them drive at a safe speed within the speed limit. The team uses this knowledge to develop the course content and timings. The team identified that three hours is the minimum time to address the range of reasons people speed and to help people develop a plan to drive safely, legally, and considerately in the future.
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.
Public Interest Test:
Considerations Favouring Disclosure:
There is a requirement to provide to the general public a better understanding of how public funds are spent. One of the underlying principles of the Act is the need for openness and transparency. In this case, there is a public interest in establishing that Dyfed-Powys Police has negotiated a competitive rate in relation to the cost of staffing the course.
Considerations Favouring Non-Disclosure:
In this case, to release details of the cost of how much the presenters of the course are paid would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the current supplier by adversely affecting its bargaining position during contractual negotiations which would result in the less effective use of public money. This would not only prejudice the commercial interests of the company/supplier but also that of Dyfed-Powys Police, as the release of this information may also affect the competitiveness of the contract which in turn would affect the relationship the force has with the company/supplier which could result in civil action from a third party. Furthermore, this information is not in the public domain and is only available to those who successfully apply for the role via a formal procurement process. This may cause harm to the reputation of the national scheme and to Dyfed-Powys Police as a provider as disclosing the cost may prohibit the ability to negotiate a contract that is of maximum benefit.
Balancing Test:
When balancing the public interest test, we have to consider whether the information should be released into the public domain. Advantages and disadvantages of disclosure need to be weighed against each other. In this case there is the use of public funds favouring disclosure which needs to be weighed against the damage that would occur to any ongoing or future tender process and the commercial interests of third parties.
By releasing the requested information, the commercial interests of a business and individuals may be compromised including that of Dyfed-Powys Police, along with the relationship that Dyfed-Powys Police has with that company/supplier or persons. Therefore, the factor favouring non-disclosure, which is damage would occur to any future tender process and the commercial interests of third parties outweighs the factor favouring disclosure, which is better understanding of how public funds are spent.
As such, the public interest favours non-disclosure of the information at this time. Therefore, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Section 21 – Information reasonably accessible by other means:
“(1) Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
(a)information may be reasonably accessible to the applicant even though it is accessible only on payment, and
(b) information is to be taken to be reasonably accessible to the applicant if it is information which the public authority or any other person is obliged by or under any enactment to communicate (otherwise than by making the information available for inspection) to members of the public on request, whether free of charge or on payment.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), information which is held by a public authority and does not fall within subsection (2)(b) is not to be regarded as reasonably accessible to the applicant merely because the information is available from the public authority itself on request, unless the information is made available in accordance with the authority’s publication scheme and any payment required is specified in, or determined in accordance with, the scheme.”
The information requested in question 3 can be accessed via the following hyperlink –
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 12/06/2024)