Dear Mr Younis

Re : Request under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act

Thank you for your e-mail dated 27^th July 2009, in which you sought information relating to the Supreme Court case management system from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as follows:

`I would like to request a complete list of suppliers/contractors and consultants that have been used over the past year when procuring IT hardware and the total spend on IT hardware during the past year. Also could you break this hardware spend down to show what brand servers, networking and desktop hardware were purchased with a spend amount in each segment.'

The Ministry of Justice's main IT services are provided through contracts with external suppliers. These contracts include provision for regular maintenance and upgrade of the infrastructures and applications to keep systems up to date and to improve business efficiency. Information on these suppliers is included in the response on 20^th April 2009 to a parliamentary question asked by Lord Patten (please see following link to Hansard: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/text/90420w0009.htm#09042043002261). The overall budget for IT for 2008/09 was £557m for 2008/09, as stated in the response on 25 November 2008 to a parliamentary question asked by Mr Elfyn Llwyd, MP (please see following link: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm081125/text/81125w0030.htm#08112643001456).

The MOJ does not hold separate data on procuring IT hardware or the total spend for IT hardware during the past year. The MOJ also does not hold separate data on the brands of servers, networking and desktop hardware with spend amount in each segment, and providing this information would significantly exceed the appropriate cost limit for central government set out in section 12 of the FOI Act.

Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, the Ministry of Justice is not obliged to comply with any information request where the prescribed costs of supplying you with the information exceed £600. The £600 limit applies to all central government departments and is based on work being carried out at a rate of £25 per hour, which equates to 3½ days work per request. Prescribed costs include those which cover the cost of locating and retrieving information, and preparing our response to you. They do not include considering whether any information is exempt from disclosure, overheads such as heating or lighting, or disbursements such as photocopying or postage.

`I would also like to request full details of the person(s) who conduct the IT purchasing there.'

I can confirm that the Department holds information on Senior Civil Servants working in IT in the Ministry of Justice. The information is exempt under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as it is in the public domain, and is accessible to you through the Civil Service Yearbook, 47^th edition, 2009, ISBN: 9780114301996. This is also available online at http://www.civil-service.co.uk/: subscription charges apply.

I can confirm that the Department also holds information on managers other than those included in the Civil Service Yearbook, However, this is exempt under section 40 (personal information) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as it constitutes third party data. Section 40(2) provides that personal data about third parties is exempt information if one of the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. Under the FOI Act disclosure of this information would breach the fair processing principle contained in the Data Protection Act (DPA).

If you are unhappy with the result of your request for information, you may request an internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter by writing to:

Data Access and Compliance Unit

Information Directorate

Ministry of Justice

6^th Floor, Zone B

102 Petty France

London

SW1H 9AJ.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Stuart Cole

KILO

MoJ ICT

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