Croft House Care Ltd & Ors v Durham County Council

Croft House Care Ltd & Ors v Durham County Council

The need for an effective review of the procurement process and a fair hearing for the claimants outweighs the Council's concerns about future procurement difficulties. Disclosure of the relevant documents to claimants' directors and personnel is necessary, subject to safeguards such as redaction and controlled inspection, as a confidentiality ring is impractical for small family businesses.

Parties
Claimant: Croft House Care Limited; Claimant: Orchard Home Care Limited; Claimant: Kelly Park Caring Agency; Defendant: Durham County Council
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
27 April 2010
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Procurement Dispute / Interlocutory Application Regarding Disclosure and Inspection of Documents
Outcome
Application granted in part; disclosure ordered with safeguards.
Legal Topics
Disclosure and Inspection of Documents, Confidentiality in Litigation, Public Contracts Regulations 2006, Freedom of Information, Balancing Fair Trial and Commercial Interests
Public Procurement Civil Procedure Disclosure and Inspection of Documents Confidentiality in Litigation Public Contracts Regulations 2006 Freedom of Information Balancing Fair Trial and Commercial Interests

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Parties

Croft House Care Limited

Claimant

Orchard Home Care Limited

Claimant

Kelly Park Caring Agency

Claimant

Durham County Council

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Procurement Dispute / Interlocutory Application Regarding Disclosure and Inspection of Documents

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether confidential documents from a public procurement process must be disclosed to claimants' personnel or only to their legal advisors
  2. 2 Whether disclosure would prejudice the Council's ability to re-run the procurement
  3. 3 What safeguards are appropriate for disclosure of sensitive documents

Ratio Decidendi

The need for an effective review of the procurement process and a fair hearing for the claimants outweighs the Council's concerns about future procurement difficulties. Disclosure of the relevant documents to claimants' directors and personnel is necessary, subject to safeguards such as redaction and controlled inspection, as a confidentiality ring is impractical for small family businesses.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part; disclosure ordered with safeguards.

Orders

  • Directors and personnel of the claimant companies are permitted to read specified categories of documents, subject to redactions and only in the presence of their solicitors; no copies or personal notes allowed.
  • Documents to be anonymised to remove identifying information where not necessary for instructions.