Freedom of Information Request: 0471 2019/20

Could you kindly provide me with the below information about your organisation:

 The Trust does hold the information you have requested however we are withholding some of the information for the reasons given below.

Commercial Sensitivity: Annual Cost

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 provider of our service desk and desktop tools.

The information you have requested is around the annual cost of the product provided to us and disclosure to the world at large would involve placing elements of the providers 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 product 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.What software product(s) are you using to manage your IT Service Management (e.g. ServiceNow, Cherwell, Hornbill etc.)?

a) Who is your current vendor? Ivanti

b) When does the contract with your current service desk provider end? Feb 2020

• c) How much does your current ITSM service desk tool cost annually? Withheld under Section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act – please see above for full details

• d) When will you be looking to review your current service desk tool? 2 years
• 2) What software product(s) are you using to manage your desktops ITAM e.g SCCM, Manage engine etc.)?
• a) Who is your current vendor? Ivanti (as above)
• b) When does the contract with your current desktop provider end? Feb 2020
• c) How much does your current ITAM desktop tool cost annually? Withheld under Section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act – please see above for full details
• d) When will you be looking to review your current desktop tool? Feb 2020
• 3) Who is your primary IT company contact? James Davis, Service Delivery Manager