Names of the top-scoring ACS companies
Published 8 September 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/names-of-the-top-scoring-acs-companies/names-of-the-top-scoring-acs-companies
1. Request
Please can you provide the names of the top-scoring ACS companies. I would like this information for the top 5% highest scoring companies.
2. Response
I confirm that the SIA holds the information that you have requested. However, I consider that information exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) FOIA.
Information is exempt if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person. In this instance, I consider it to be the businesses within the Approved Contractor Scheme. Security businesses compete by offering something different to their competitors and this difference can include the information being sought in this request (business ranking within the Approved Contractor Scheme). The SIA considers that this information is intrinsically sensitive to the businesses within the Approved Contractor Scheme in that it is unique, not within the public domain and likely to be beneficial to competitors in the commercial market place and therefore carries commercial value. The SIA considers that the release of this information would have a real and significant potential to detrimentally affects businesses within the Approved Contractor Scheme.
I am satisfied that the information requested would be likely to prejudice the interests of businesses within the Approved Contractor Scheme and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it. There is a strong public interest in enabling security businesses within the Approved Contractor Scheme to operate in a fair environment and there is a level playing field for all ACS security businesses.
[Reference: FOI 0352]