Friday 5 March 2010
Dear Mr Hellard
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, I have now processed
your request.
Please find the requested information stated below. This answers your
request fully, except in respect of question (iv) where you have asked us to
supply the postcodes of any data centres. We have withheld this information
under section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act. Full details about our use
of this exemption are provided below.
i) Who are the incumbent suppliers of the "basic connectivity (Layer 2)"
for your Wide Area Network Services? Are any contracts due for renewal
in the next six months?
We have one contract with BT with a renewal date 30/03/2014
ii) How many sites are there on your network and how many require high
speed (greater than 1 Gig) connections?
There are 600 sites connected to the network. None of these sites have
greater than a 1 Gbps connection.
iii) Do you build and operate your own network or do you use a Systems
Integrator or Outsourcing company to do that? If so, please specify who
and when the contract expires.
The contract is with BT and it expires on 30/03/2014
iv) How many Data Centres do you use and are they on council premises
or third party premises? Please specify post codes for DC locations. If
third party please specify the company and when the contract expires.
We have one main data centre based on council premises and another
‘Backup Site’ also based on council premises.
v) Do you operate your own Data Centres or do you use a System
Integrator or Outsourcing company for that? If so, please specify who
and when the contract expires.
We operate our own.
vi) Do you use "Co-location" Services ? If yes who is the supplier and
when do the contracts need to be renewed?
No, we do not use “Co-location” Services.
Re post code data for question (iv)
Exemption Applied
Section 31(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides a qualified
exemption for release of information if its disclosure would, or would likely
prejudice:
(a) the prevention or detection of crime,
(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders,
(c) the administration of justice,
(d) the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition or a
similar nature,
(e) the operation of the immigration controls,
(f) the maintenance of security and good in prisons or in other institutions
where persons are lawfully detained,
(g) the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes
specified in subsection(2)
(h) any civil proceedings which are brought by or on behalf of a public
authority and arise out of an investigation conducted, for any of the purposes
specified in subsection(2), by or on behalf of the authority by virtue of Her
Majesty's prerogative or by virtue of powers conferred by or under an
enactment, or
(i) any inquiry held under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiries
(Scotland) At 1976 to the extent that the inquiry arises out of an investigation
conducted, for any of the purposes specified in ss(2) by or on behalf of the
authority by virtue of Her Majesty's prerogative or by virtue of powers
conferred by or under an enactment.
Subsection “(a) the prevention or detection of crime” applies in this case.
Reason why exemption applies
Providing the exact postcode of the two data centres would help an individual
to locate them, increasing the risk that they could be specifically targeted for
criminal activity. Releasing the information would therefore prejudice our
ability to prevent crime.
Public Interest Test
There is a strong public interest in us being able to prevent crime in relation to
our data centres. We recognise that there is a public interest in being
confident that we are storing our data securely and appropriately; however we
have stated that the data centres are on council premises and do not believe
that providing the exact postcode of the data centres adds any great value to
this in this respect. Therefore there is no strong public interest in favour of
releasing the information and the reasons for withholding the information
outweigh those for releasing it.
FOI Complaints procedure
You have the right of appeal through the Council's internal complaints
procedure by setting out the grounds of your appeal in writing to the
Corporate Freedom of Information Officer at:
Freedom of Information & Data Protection Unit, The Archive Centre,
Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR1 2DQ
e-mail: [Norfolk County Council request email]. Telephone: 01603 222661
If you are dissatisfied after pursuing the complaints procedure, you may apply
to the Information Commissioner under Section 50 of the Act for a decision
whether your request for information has been dealt with in accordance with
the requirements of Part I of the Act. Contact details as follows:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. e-mail:
[email address] Telephone 01625 545 745.
Yours sincerely
Matthew Smith
Freedom of Information and Data Protection Assistant
