Request for information on the GCA's supplier spend data
Published 1 July 2025
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7th Floor, The Cabot
25 Cabot Square
London E14 4QZ
T: +44 (0)20 7215 6537
E: Enquiries@GroceriesCode.gov.uk
www.gov.uk/gca
Sent by email
25 June 2025
Freedom of Information Act: Request for information on Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) activities
Thank you for your email of 28 May 2025 regarding supplier spend data and the GCA. You asked for the following information:
- Suppliers’ payment/spend data from 2018 to the most recent months.
- Payments to suppliers over £500 or over £25,000, depending on your publication thresholds.
General right of access to information held by public authorities
Under section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the FOIA Act”), anyone making a request for information to the GCA, as a public authority, is entitled to be informed in writing whether it holds that information, and if so, to be supplied with it.
I can confirm that the GCA does hold the requested information.
Prejudice of commercial interests
The GCA is exempt from disclosing the requested information under section 43(2) of the FOIA Act.
Section 43(2) exempts information from release if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it). Information disclosed under the FOIA is considered to be public information, and while there is a presumption towards disclosure, consideration needs to be given as to who could access to this information beyond the requestor and the purposes for which they could use the information.
The prejudice test
Exemptions under section 43(2) are subject to the prejudice test.
The information you have requested includes commercially sensitive information received from our suppliers. The GCA believes that the disclosure of the requested information would inhibit the GCA’s ability to negotiate effectively and would therefore be likely to prejudice its commercial interests.
The activities undertaken by the GCA to fulfil its statutory regulatory functions are well understood in the groceries sector and are similar each year. If the GCA were to release supplier spend data and/or details of payments made to specific suppliers, it is likely that any interested party could infer the nature of the goods or services provided. In turn this would reveal the amount that the GCA has paid for specific goods or services that it procures regularly, likely prejudicing the ability of the GCA to effectively negotiate future contracts with new or existing suppliers.
Public interest test
Exemptions under section 43(2) are also subject to the public interest test.
Public interest favours disclosure
The GCA recognises that there is a general public interest in the disclosure of information, including promoting transparent, accountable and effective use of public funds.
Such transparent, accountable and effective use of public funds is promoted including by the requirement in the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013 that the GCA must obtain the Secretary of State’s consent before imposing a levy and that the GCA must prepare and publish an annual report. The GCA’s accounts are audited by the National Audit Office.
Those GCA’s published annual reports covered by your request (the financial years 2017/18 to 2023/24 inclusive) show overall expenditure by year, broken down into categories. The annual reports can be found here: GCA Annual Reports and Accounts - GOV.UK
Public interest favours withholding
There is a public interest in ensuring that the commercial interests of the GCA are not prejudiced by disclosure of information.
Releasing the requested information would be likely to prejudice the GCA’s commercial interests, including its ability to effectively negotiate future commercial agreements. There is a public interest in ensuring that the GCA can negotiate effectively to obtain maximum value for money from public funds.
Releasing the requested information could also undermine other parties’ legitimate expectations of confidentiality. In the context of common understanding in the market of the GCA’s activities and regular procurement of similar goods and services, [it] is important that the GCA is able to receive commercially sensitive information in the confidence that such information will be protected from public disclosure.
The GCA is withholding the information that you have requested, having concluded that the public interest would not be served by its release.
Appeals Procedure
If you wish to complain about the way in which your request for information has been handled, you may seek an internal review by writing, setting out the reasons you feel your request has not been dealt with effectively, to:
The FOI Review Co-ordinator
Groceries Code Adjudicator
7th Floor, 25 Cabot Square
London
E14 4QZ
Alternatively, you can email: enquiries@groceriescode.gov.uk.
We will aim to deal with your Internal Review request within 20 working days of receipt or, if that is not possible, advise you of a date when we expect to complete the review.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Internal Review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can do this on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.