Freedom of Information Request: 0671 2019/20

Can I please make a request under the Freedom of Information Act and I would like to request the following information about the organisation’s Local Area Network (LAN) environment. You may have received the same request in the past and this information sent has now expired and I require an update as soon as possible.

Please can you send me the organisation’s Local Area Network (LAN) contract, which may include the following:

• Support and Maintenance- e.g. switches, router, software etc
• Managed- If this includes services than just LAN.

The Trust does hold a copy of the LAN contract but we are withholding it, along with details of costs and prices, under Section 43 of the Freedom Of Information Act as we consider it to be commercially sensitive information.

We have provided other details about the contract below the Section 43 justification.

Please note that we have both in-house and third party LAN provision.

Section 43 (2) (Commercial Interests)

The Trust considers that the details held within the contract covering supply of our Local Area Network (LAN) is commercially sensitive in nature. This information could be used by competitors to gain a significant unfair advantage when products are put out to re-tender.

Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and is subject to the public interest test. This means that not only does the information have to prejudice one of the purposes listed, but before the information can be withheld, the public interest in preventing that prejudice must outweigh the public interest in disclosure.

Public Interest Test

Considerations in favour of disclosure:

• The public need to know that we are spending public money wisely and getting best value, without fear or favour.
• The need for public authorities to be transparent in their dealings.

Considerations against disclosure:

• Disclosing this information would likely give the provider organisation’s competitors a significant unfair advantage during re-procurement of the products.
• It could weaken the Trust’s position as potential companies would not have confidence that the Trust would keep sensitive financial data private.
• This could prejudice the Trust’s ability to obtain best price and value.
• It could reduce pricing innovation in tendering parties’ bids when the service is put out for re-procurement.
• The inherent public interest in avoiding prejudice to the provider organisation and the Trust.

Conclusion:

The Trust recognises that there is a public interest in the disclosure of information which facilitates the accountability and transparency of public bodies for decisions taken by them. However, there is also a public interest in the Trust being able to work within competitive markets where that results in a financial or resource benefit which is put to the wider public interest. Having undertaken the balancing exercise, the Trust has concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the requested information having regard to the effect that the disclosure of the information would not be in the public interest.

Given that the definition of ‘public’ under the Act is considered to be the public at large, rather than just the individual applicant or a small group of people and that ‘public interest’ is not necessarily the same as what interests the public, it is considered that to release this sensitive information into the public domain is likely to result in prejudice to the commercial interests of both the Trust and the supplier organisation which is not outweighed by the wider public interest for disclosure.

If the LAN maintenance is included in-house please include the following information:

1. Hardware Brand: What is the hardware brand of the LAN equipment?

CISCO

2. Number of Users: Please can you provide me with the number of users this contract covers. Approximate number of users will also be acceptable.

The Trust has approximately 22,000 members of staff

3. Number of Sites: Estimated/Actual number of sites the LAN covers.

22

4. Responsible Officer: Who within the organisation is responsible for LAN please provide me with contact details including name, job title, contact number and email address?

Didier Meert – Head of Technical Services – 0121 4243967 – didier.meert@heartofengland.nhs.uk

If the contract is managed by a 3rd party e.g. Can you please provide me with

1. Existing Supplier: Who is the current supplier?

Convergence

2. Number of Users: Please can you provide me with the number of users this contract covers. Approximate number of users will also be acceptable.

The Trust has approximately 22,000 members of staff

3. Number of Sites: Estimated/Actual number of sites the LAN covers.

22

4. Contract Type: Managed, Maintenance, Installation, Software

Combination of Managed/Maintenance/Supported/Software

5. Hardware Brand: What is the hardware brand of the LAN equipment?

CISCO

6. Contract Description: Please provide me with a brief description of the overall contract.

All LAN components have a break/fix contract and are monitored on a 24/7 basis. Linked with this is an automated/controller patching service to have the latest patches in place. This also include an automated configured backup service.
The core and distribution components are fully managed.

7. Contract Duration: What is the duration of the contract is and can you please also include any extensions this may include.

7 years

8. Contract Expiry Date: When does the contract expire?

2027

9. Contract Review Date: When will the organisation is planning to review the contract?

During year 5

10. Responsible Officer: Who within the organisation is responsible for each of these contract(s) please provide me with contact details including name, job title, contact number and email address?

Didier Meert – Head of Technical Services – 0121 4243967 – Didier.meert@heartofengland.nhs.uk