FOI request (FOIR-530222251)

Telecom - Networks

Requested Sun 09 July 2023
Responded  Fri 28 July 2023

All or some of the information provided previously has expired, I require an update on the questions below.

See my request below:

Contract 1 - Telephony/Voice Services (Analogue, ISDN VOIP, SIP, and so on)

1. Telephony/Voice Services Provider - Please can you provide me with the name of the supplier for each contract.

2. Telephony/Voice Services Contract Renewal Date - please provide day, month and year (month and year are also acceptable). If this is a rolling contract, please provide me with the rolling date of the contract. If there is more than one supplier, please split the renewal dates up into however many suppliers.

3. Telephony/Voice Services Contract Duration- the number of years the contract is for each provider, please also include any contract extensions.

4. Telephony/Voice Services Type of Lines - Please can you split the type of lines per each supplier? (PSTN, Analogue, SIP, ISDN, VOIP)

5. Telephony/Voice Services Number of Lines/Channels/SIP Trunks - Please can you split the number of lines per each supplier? (PSTN, Analogue, SIP, ISDN, VOIP)

Contract 2 - Incoming and Outgoing of call services

6. Minutes/Landline Provider - Supplier's name (not Mobiles). If there is no information available, please can you provide further insight into why?

7. Minutes/Landline Contract Renewal Date - Please provide day, month and year (month and year is also acceptable). If this is a rolling contract, please provide me with the rolling date of the contract.

8. Minutes/Landline Monthly Spend- Monthly average spend on calls for each provider. An estimate or average is acceptable. If SIP services, please provide me with the cost of services per month.

9. Minutes/Landline Contract Duration- The number of years the contract is for each provider, please also include any contract extensions.

10. Number of Extensions- Please state the number of telephone extensions the organisation currently has. An estimate or average is acceptable.

Contract 3 - The organisation's broadband provider

11. Broadband Provider - Supplier's Name. If there is not information available, please can you provide further insight into why?

12. Broadband Expiry Date - Please provide day, month, and year (month and year is also acceptable). If this is a rolling contract, please provide me with the rolling date of the contract. If there is more than one supplier, please split the expiry dates up into however many suppliers.

13. Broadband Annual Average Spend - Annual average spend for each broadband provider. An estimate or average is acceptable.

Contract 4 - Contracts relating to Wide Area Network (WAN) services, this could also include HSCN network services

14. WAN Provider - Please provide me with the main supplier(s). If there is no information available, please can you provide further insight into why?

15. WAN Contract Expiry Date - Pease provide day, month, and year (month and year are also acceptable). If this is a rolling contract, please provide me with the rolling date of the contract. If there is more than one supplier, please split the expiry dates up into however many suppliers.

16. Contract Description - Please can you provide me with a brief description for each contract.

17. The number of sites - Please state the number of sites the WAN covers. An approximate answer will do.

18. WAN Annual Average Spend- Annual average spend for each WAN provider. An estimate or average is acceptable.

19. For each WAN contract, can you please provide me with information on how this was procured, especially around those procurements that used frameworks, please provide me with the framework reference.

20. Internal Contact - Please can you send me their full contact details including contact number and email and job title for all the contracts above.

Response

Contract 1

1. Refused - please see below

2. Rolling - Contract can be cancelled at any time

3. Not Applicable

4. ISDN

5. Lines 50

Contract 2

6. Refused - please see below

7. Rolling - Contract can be cancelled at any time

8. Refused - please see below

9. Not Applicable

10. We have 350 phones registered on the system

Contract 3

11. Contract 1 - Refused - please see below, Contract 2 - Refused - please see below

12. Contract 1 - Refused - please see below - Quarterly Rolling, Contract 2 - Quarterly Rolling

13. Contract 1 - Refused - please see below, Contract 2 - Refused - please see below

Contract 4

14. Refused - please see below

15. October 2023

16. Fibre point-to-point links

17. 3 Remote Sites

18. Refused - please see below

19. Information not held

20. Mark Bourne, Head of Information Technology, 01424 451066

NOTICE OF REFUSAL

Information you have requested in respect of supplier names and costings 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.