Please provide:
1. The overall and detailed agreement that Devon County Council and Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd reached regarding the amendments to the de-scope of the original works package on the A361 NDLR Improvement Scheme.
This information is exempt from disclosure under Section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Prejudice to the Effective Conduct of Public Affairs)
Devon County Council (DCC) can confirm the requested information is held; however, it’s disclosure would inhibit the free and frank provision of advice, the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation and would otherwise prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs.
The Council’s “qualified person” for the purpose of the Act, has stated that the exemption applies, therefore the information is withheld.
2. A detailed account of the agreement made by Devon to support an overall increase to the original price that the contractor offered at tender stage and the % increase, plus monetary value amount agreed between both Client and Contractor compared to the original budget price.
The costs and details of the changes to the contract have been placed into the public domain via the notices issued, links provided below.
Works – 34372-2023 – TED Tenders Electronic Daily (europa.eu)
Works – 43856-2023 – TED Tenders Electronic Daily (europa.eu)
The following link to the North Devon Link Road website also provides additional information to the changes including links to the Committee report and minutes. However it should be noted that these changes were heard at Cabinet under Part 2, which restricts public access to the details due to the commercial sensitivity of the information.
‘Main Works’ contract varied to counter inflationary price rises – The North Devon Link Road
3. A copy of Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd’s claim for additional financial support, detailing reasons why along with their detailed calculations associated with this request.
DCC does not hold this information as Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd did not make a formal claim. However, we can confirm that Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd submitted a report detailing the financial difficulties they had encountered as result of COVID, inflation and the war in the Ukraine.