FOI request (FOIR-139742877)

For the following areas: 

- Building Control

- Planning (Development Control)

- Local Land Charges

- Environmental Health

- Grounds Maintenance

- Address Management (LLPG)

- Licensing (including Taxi's, alcohol, etc)

- Private Sector Housing

- Trading Standards

- Waste Management 

1. Please provide the name of the software supplier used within your Local Authority (for each of the areas above).

2. Please provide the name of the product used (for each of the areas above).

3. Please provide the current contract end date for the each of these contracts. 

4. Please advise on the current contract value and the annual support and maintenance for each of these contracts.

5.  Please advise if any of the services listed are done as a shared service, and state which areas are.

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

Q1 -

- Building Control - This area is dealt with by Wealden District Council, please visit their website for further information: www.wealden.gov.uk

- Planning (Development Control) - Idox plc

- Local Land Charges - Idox plc

- Environmental Health - Northgate

- Grounds Maintenance - Pitney Bowes

- Address Management (LLPG) - Idox plc

- Licensing (including Taxi's, alcohol, etc) - Northgate M3

- Private Sector Housing - Northgate M

- Trading Standards - This area is dealt with by East Sussex County Council, please visit their website for further information: www.eastsussex.gov.uk

- Waste Management - Hastings Borough Council use our waste contractor's IT system (service requests are pushed to it from our corporate CRM system).

Q2 -

- Building Control - See Q1

- Planning (Development Control) - Acolaid

- Local Land Charges - Acolaid

- Environmental Health - M3 Public Protection

- Grounds Maintenance - Confirm

- Address Management (LLPG) - Acolaid

- Licensing (including Taxi's, alcohol, etc) - M3 Public Protection

- Private Sector Housing - M3 Public Protection

- Trading Standards - See Q1

- Waste Management - WhiteSpace

Q3 -

- Building Control - See Q1

- Planning (Development Control) - rolling contract

- Local Land Charges - rolling contract

- Environmental Health - rolling contract

- Grounds Maintenance - 02/03/2020

- Address Management (LLPG) - rolling contract

- Licensing (including Taxi's, alcohol, etc) - rolling contract

- Private Sector Housing - rolling contract

- Trading Standards - See Q1

- Waste Management - See Q1

Q4 -

This relates to: Planning (Development Control), Local Land Charges, Environmental Health, Grounds Maintenance, Licensing.NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The information you have requested in respect of Q4 is commercially sensitive and falls under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act - Commercially Sensitive Information

Information prejudicing commercial interests - commercial interest relating to an organisations commercial activity and may include trading activity procurement and relationships with third parties.

The exemption afforded by Section 43 is subject to what is known as the 'public interest test'.  When applying the test in a particular case a public authority is deciding whether the public interest is better served by non-disclosure than by disclosure. 

Although the Freedom of Information Act does not define 'in the public interest', there is a presumption under Freedom of Information that openness is in the public interest.  In applying the public interest test a public authority will take into account the distinction that has been often made by courts between things that are in the public interest, and things that merely interest the public.  Where applicants have not identified public interest considerations succinctly or accurately, the public authority has a responsibility under the Act to make their own assessment of the public interest considerations in the particular case.

We have identified the following public interest factors that may be seen as encouraging the disclosure of information:

a)    accountability of public spending

We consider these factors to be of limited relevance in relation to the information in question.

Public interest factors seen as encouraging non-disclosure are, generally, the exemptions themselves.   In consideration of this matter we came to the following conclusions:

a)   ensuring that companies are able to compete for business fairly

b)   damage to reputation and/or financial interests

In weighing the factors for and against disclosure we have concluded that the likely benefit to the applicant and the wider public of disclosure is outweighed by the likely prejudice caused by such disclosure and that therefore the public interest is better served by non-disclosure. 

For the reasons given above we will not be communicating to you the information you have requested.

Waste Management - N/A, same as Q1

Q5 -

Building Control and Waste Management