Do public bodies need to release the names of parties who took part in a procurement exercise and failed to secure a bid?
Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, there is no obligation to disclose details of other bidders beside the specific requirement in the standstill letters, where only details of the successful contractor must be disclosed to the individual unsuccessful bidder. However, could the Freedom of Information override this?
The First-tier Tribunal of the General Regulatory Chamber dismissed an appeal in Greenwood v Information Commissioner , brought under section 57 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The court found that there was insufficient evidence to persuade them that on balance it was in
the public interest to disclose the withheld information, particularly following evidence that disclosure would or would be likely to adversely affect these companies’ commercial interests.
The case required a balancing act between the public interest in the Government’s handling of the pandemic versus the respondents’ notion of protection and safeguarding the anonymity of unsuccessful bidders. The Tribunal found the commercial interest in withholding the information
outweighed any public interest and therefore dismissed the appeal.
In2 the bargain 