James Watson
[FOI #22255 email]
27 November 2009
Our Ref: FOI 2009/183 – F0076422
Dear Mr Watson,
Re: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information
Thank you for your email which was received by the University on 30 October 2009 timed
15:00 hours, requesting the following information:
1. I have noticed that you took an unusual step by paying £286,794.96 to the supplier, Atos,
for the Student Lifecycle Project to assist the University in due diligence. I would expect that
for due diligence the buyer would employ a lawyer and not expect the work to be carried out
by the supplier.
Could you please tell me, did the University use any legal firm for the due diligence?
If so, how much was your legal bill?
2. Could you please give me a list of all the suppliers that are involved with the Student
Lifecycle Project and the purpose of their involvement? So far I have noticed the involvement
of NCC, Atos and Oracle.
3. Please send me the relevant minutes of the meetings of the Information Strategy
Committee that approved the cost of recruiting two external consultants (£24803.13 and
£5857.56). This was mentioned in your reply to my previous request dated 30th September
2009. See:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/background_information_about_the#incoming-52366
University’s Response
1. I have noticed that you took an unusual step by paying £286,794.96 to the supplier,
Atos, for the Student Lifecycle Project to assist the University in due diligence. I would
expect that for due diligence the buyer would employ a lawyer and not expect the work
to be carried out by the supplier.
DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICE
Main Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ
Data Protection: Telephone: 0141-330-3111
E-Mail: [email address]
Freedom of Information: Telephone: 0141-330-2523
E-Mail: foi@gla.ac.uk
The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401
Could you please tell me, did the University use any legal firm for the due diligence?
If so, how much was your legal bill?
Due Diligence focused on a detailed review of requirements and validation of those
requirements against the proposed solution. Contract negotiations were not part of the due
diligence process and the University's legal advisors were therefore not involved at this point.
Atos was never engaged in providing any form of legal advice.
2. Could you please give me a list of all the suppliers that are involved with the Student
Lifecycle Project and the purpose of their involvement? So far I have noticed the
involvement of NCC, Atos and Oracle.
The suppliers that are involved with the Student Lifecycle Project and the purposes of their
involvement are as follows:
NCC – Programme management support for implementation
Atos – Specialist consultancy support for implementation
Oracle – System supplier and specialist consultancy support for implementation
3. Please send me the relevant minutes of the meetings of the Information Strategy
Committee that approved the cost of recruiting two external consultants (£24803.13 and
£5857.56). This was mentioned in your reply to my previous request dated 30th
September
2009. See:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/background_information_about_the#incomin
g-52366
The Information Policy Strategy Committee (IPSC) agreed a proposed spend of £36,000 at
their meeting on 27/07/2006. The relevant minute of that meeting is attached as Appendix 1.
The supply of documents under the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
does not give the applicant or whoever receives the information any right to re-use it in such a
way that might infringe the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (for example, by making
multiple copies, publishing or otherwise distributing the information to other individuals and the
public). The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Consequential Modifications) Order
2004 ensured that Section 50 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“CDPA”)
applies to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (“FOISA”).
Breach of copyright law is an actionable offence and the University expressly reserves its
rights and remedies available to it pursuant to the CDPA and common law. Further information
on copyright is available at the following website:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy.htm
Your right to seek a review
Should you be dissatisfied with the way in which the University has dealt with your request,
you have the right to require us to review our actions and decisions. Please refer to the
Review Procedure (http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/dpfoioffice/policiesandprocedures/foisa-
complaintsandreview/) for further information. All complaints regarding requests for
information will be handled in accordance with this procedure.
Yours sincerely,
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Office