Julian Todd
Julian Todd [[FOI #1132 email]]
15 September 2008
Dear Mr Todd
Freedom of information request – RFI20080902
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”) dated 20 August
2008.
You requested:
“Thank you for your partial reply to my request for details about the "considerable consultation with the new
media industry" where "it was agreed that publishing the following performance metrics will be helpful to
the industry whilst not compromising commercial confidentiality."
I was told that the information provided as part of the consultation process is held by multiple departments
within the BBC and by third parties, so it would exceed the limit for dealing with my request.
The total lack of transparency expressed in the policy about who receives these contracts and what each
one is for is a serious matter, and quite difficult to justify in the circumstances. The BBC is the customer
and is able to set the terms in advance of how open they want to be about who they are contracting for
these services -- and whether their entire database of jobs is posted on-line.
If this policy of secrecy resulted from consultations with outside businesses and potential contractors, there
should at the very least be some accountability for who wanted it that way, and a statement of their
reasons.
Therefore I am narrowing my FOI request from "all reports, arguments, advice, and evidence supplied by the
interested parties" to
* any summary report of the consultations laying out the arguments for this policy of confidentiality
* any plans for when this policy could be reconsidered.”
In response to your request we can confirm that the BBC does not hold such a summary report. The
consultation process was part of a BBC project looking at ways to increase transparency in the BBC’s
activities without compromising commercial sensitivity and, therefore, we did not create the report
you have requested. We have no recorded plans to amend this approach.
The outcome of the consultation, as agreed by the BBC Trust, was to apply a competitive tendering
process, to create the Approved Suppliers List and to implement the online commissioning system.
The processes can be found at the following link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/futuremedia/index.shtml
We hope you find this information useful.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior
manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the address above, explaining what you would like us to
review and including your reference number. If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can
appeal to the Information Commissioner. The contact details are: Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see
http://www.ico.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely
L. Stiller
Legal and Business Affairs Manager
BBC Future Media & Technology
