§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used for not disclosing information on the ground of commercial confidentiality for parliamentary questions asked about(a) the prison escort service in the east midlands and Humberside and
440W1991 data will be published in the Home Office statistical bulletin "Criminal Appeals England and Wales,1991"—table 1 refers—issue 13/93 on 29 April 1993. A copy of which will also be placed in the Library.
1992 data will not be available until the autumn of 1993.
(b) each contracted-out prison; and what plans he has to alter the criteria (i) for questions relating to these contracts and (ii) for questions relating to future contracts.
§ Mr. Peter LloydFor both the court escort service and prison management contracts, the non-disclosure of information on the ground of commercial confidentiality is intended to protect the purchasing authority's position in future tendering exercises by not making known to competitors the details of a winning bid, particularly staffing and fee details in the case of a service contract.
For the future, there will be full disclosure and reporting of a range of performance data on all prisons, whether directly or privately managed. There will also be disclosure of total staffing levels, occupancy and a breakdown of staffing into main categories. Other information will be provided so long as it does not affect security or the rights of individuals or is not commercially sensitive. This will be in response to specific requests if the information is available or can be obtained at reasonable cost and, if necessary, after discussion with the service provider.