Our Ref: SS/FOI 3122

Date: 31 July 2009

Ms Heather Brooke

Sent via email

Email address: [FOI #14060 email]

Dear Ms Brooke

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Request for Information

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information held by the Authority under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please find herewith the following:

Your request

I am writing to request information about the process of building and delivering the new website www.birmingham.gov.uk. Specifically I would like to know:

1. The date on which this work began.

2. The initial delivery date and the new estimated date the work will be completed.

3. The initial cost estimate of the work and the current cost.

4. Who is doing this work? (e.g. which unit, division, section, agency, company, etc.)?

5. If any contracts are related to this job, copies of these (including all indexes, appendices and supplements) and the bids to tender. 6. All progress/status reports on this work.

My preferred format to receive this information is by electronic means. If one part of this request can be answered sooner than others, please send that information first followed by any subsequent data. If you need any clarification of this request please feel free to email me. If FOI requests of a similar nature have already been asked could you please include your responses to those requests.

Many public authorities release their contracts with private vendors in line with the Freedom of Information Act. The exemption for commercial interest under the Act (section 43) is a qualified exemption, which means information can only be withheld if it is in the public's interest. The public have an interest in knowing the terms of contracts awarded by public authorities, whether or not public money changes hands immediately.

If you are relying on section 41 (the exemption for legal breach of confidence) then I would like to know the following:

• When these confidentiality agreements were agreed

• All correspondence and email in which these confidentiality agreements were discussed.

• The precise wording of the confidentiality agreements

I ask these questions because guidance issued by both the Lord Chancellor (draft guidance on FOI implementation) and the Office of Government Commerce (Model terms and conditions for goods and services) specifically state that public authorities should not enter into these types of agreements; they go directly against the spirit of the laws of disclosure. I would also point to the Information Commissioner's guidance on accepting blanket commercial confidentiality agreements: `Unless confidentiality clauses are necessary or reasonable, there is a real risk that, in the event of a complaint, the Commissioner would order disclosure in any case.'

Finally, within the law of confidence there is also a public interest test. Therefore, the contracts should be disclosed in full. If any parts are redacted they must be for information that can be proven to be a legal breach of confidence in court, and only then where secrecy can be shown to be in the public interest. These are difficult positions to argue when public money is at stake or where a public authority is offering a private company a monopoly to charge its stakeholders.

Response

1. The date on which the work began.

The first web project began in August 2005 when approval was sought from Cabinet for the procurement and implementation of a web service solution (see copy of report - attachment 1). Since the original report the scope of the website has changed in line with technology improvements and the changing needs of the council and its citizens. In its current scope the project began in March 2008 (see summary of timeline - attachment 2).

2. The initial delivery date and the new estimated date the work will be completed.

The estimate in the Cabinet report for the original project was that it would initially take 7 months i.e. until March 2006. In its current modified scope the project was scheduled for completion in October 2008 and then revised to complete by March 2009. It is now expected to complete in August 2009. Further detail is included in timeline - attachment 2.

3. The initial cost estimate of the work and the current cost.

The original Cabinet approval in the summer of 2005 was for £580k and further approval was obtained in the summer of 2006, following additional detailed work of £1,622k. This gave an "approved budget" of £2.202m including £281k for the cost of parallel running (i.e. revenue).

Subsequently, we have agreed further spend of £601k for developments not included in the agreed specification (£362k on a shared basis with Service Birmingham); external testing (£54k); training & technical authoring (£66k); system testing (£47k); and additional resource (£73k) funded from available ICT and BT budgets. This gives the latest estimated of currently approved spend of £2.803m.

4. Who is doing this work (e.g. which unit, division, agency, company etc.)

The project is a joint one between the city and the city's technology partner, Service Birmingham (the council's joint venture with Capita). The technical system development work for the project in its current scope is primarily being undertaken by Service Birmingham and the company's 3^rd party contractors, to a specification owned by and with the direct support of the Birmingham City Council web team.

The checking of content as a result of content migration and new content is being undertaken by staff (web content editors) in each directorate of the council, roles they would undertake as part of their standard jobs.

5. If any contracts are related to this job, copies of these (including all indexes, appendices and supplements).

Under the terms of the joint venture arrangements, Service Birmingham has responsibility for web services development as outlined in the Service Delivery Agreement dated 28^th March 2006. All contracts are between Service Birmingham and the relevant contractor(s); therefore they do not fall under the scope of the FOI Act.

6. All status/progress reports on this work.

As the project originally commenced in 2005 in respect of this element of your question, there are a large number of documents where this information is held. This includes paper records as well as electronic documents and will not solely reference the web project. Due to the wide range and distribution of this information, we estimate that it will cost more than the appropriate limit to consider your request.

The appropriate limit specified in the regulations is £450.00. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the department holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Consequently, the Council is not obliged by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to respond to your request see section 12(1).

However, you may wish to narrow the scope of your request, so the Council may be able to provide the information free of charge because it would cost less than the appropriate limit to do so. Any reformulated request the department receives from you will be treated as a fresh FOI request.

If you are not satisfied with the response you may ask for an internal review. If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council's decision you may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the following address:

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545745

Web Address: www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Corporate Information Governance Team

Re use of Public Sector Information

The information provided is subject to Birmingham City Council copyright, however, it may be re-used for personal, educational or non-commercial purposes without further reference to the City Council. If the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, you should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms for re-use. Where Birmingham City Council does not hold the copyright, it has indicated the copyright holder. Permission for re-use should be sought from them directly.

Directorate of Corporate Governance Telephone: 0121-303 4876

Corporate Information Governance Team Facsimile: 0121-675 1427

1^st Floor, 1 Lancaster Circus

Birmingham B4 7DQ