Freedom of Information Request: 0375 2019/20
I hope you can help me with an exercise we are conducting, to understand more about the Procurement Strategies in the Public Sector; specifically within Local Authorities and around the take up of G Cloud.
The information you provide as part of this Freedom of Information exercise will help us to understand the most appropriate way of interacting with Local Authorities in their buying cycles.
The Trust does hold the information you have requested however we are withholding some of the information for the reasons given below.
Commercial Sensitivity:
Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) provides,
“(2) Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).”
A commercial interest relates to a person’s ability to participate competitively in a commercial activity, with the underlying aim being able to make a profit. The information you have requested is the commercial information of a third party and in order to apply section 43(2), the Trust must satisfy itself that disclosure of the information would, or would be likely to, prejudice or harm the commercial interests of any person (including the Trust).
Disclosure of the information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial activities of a third party, in this case the supplier of the patient appointment reminder service.
The information you have requested is around the pricing structure of the contractor and disclosure to the world at large would involve placing elements of their commercial strategy into the hands of their competitors, which would prejudice their commercial interests. Therefore S43(2) of the FOIA is engaged as disclosure of the information requested would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the contractor.
The public interest test
Commercially sensitive information is protected from disclosure by section 43(2) of the FOIA which is a qualified exemption subject to the public interest test. The Trust considered, in all the circumstance of the case, where the balance of the public interest lies.
Public interest in maintaining the exemption
There is a public interest in protecting the commercial interests of individual companies such as the contractor and ensuring they are able to compete fairly in a commercial environment.
Disclosure of information may cause unwarranted reputational damage to the Trust or the contractor whose information it holds, which may in turn damage its commercial interests through loss of trade.
Revealing information such as a pricing can be detrimental to the Trust’s negotiations on future tenders with other providers. If a competitor knows how much the Trust paid for a service then it can exploit this for profit or other gain.
Public interest in disclosing the information
To promote openness and transparency of public expenditure, which would enable the public to better scrutinise how public money is spent.
The balancing exercise
The Trust decided the public interest in maintaining the exemption substantially outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
1) Is your current IT Service Management function and associated software application based in house or Outsourced to a 3rd Party? In house solution
2) Please provide the full name and version of the ITSM software application in use? Ivanti Service Desk Ver 7.8
3) What is the lifetime value of the contract and over how many years? Section 43 (Commercial)
4) As part of the existing contract how many support operatives (agents) are licenced/subscribed to use the solution? (These are individuals who work on the desk in resolver groups, not customers using a Self-Service function). 210 + 22 Concurrent
5) When is the contract due for renewal? February 2020
6) How was the current solution procured – directly with the Vendor, through a Framework or via G Cloud? Framework
7) What are your published procurement thresholds for tendering purposes? As per the Public Contracts Regulations 2015
8) What is the Authority’s strategy with regards to Cloud solutions as opposed to In House installations? This is currently being assessed on a case by case basis
9) Has the organisation ever procured through the G Cloud Framework? Yes
