Highway/Roads Asset Management

The request was successful.

Dear FOI Team,

I would be most grateful if you would provide me, under the Freedom of Information Act, the following details:
• What software you are using for your highway/roads asset management?
• What is the annual spend on this contract?
• What are the start date & duration of the contract?
• Is there an extension clause in the contract and, if so, the duration of the extension?
• Has a decision been made yet on whether the contract is being either extended or renewed?
• Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?

Thank you for your help.
Yours sincerely,
G Peters

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Diolch am eich neges e-bost. Os ydych yn gofyn am fynediad at wybodaeth
dan delerau Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 cewch ymateb o fewn ugain
niwrnod gwaith.

Thank you for your email. If you are requesting access to information
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you will receive a
response within twenty working days.

[1]Sefyllfa Bresennol Gwasanaethau'r Cyngor   |   [2]Council Services
Current Situation

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn y Gymraeg a’r Saesneg fel ei gilydd. Ni
fydd gohebiaeth yn yr un iaith na’r llall yn arwain at unrhyw oedi. We
welcome correspondence in both Welsh and English. We will respond to
correspondence in either language without delay. [3][USEMAP]

show quoted sections

Conwy County Borough Council

Dear G Peters

Thank you for your enquiry 3977.

If you are requesting access to information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulation 2004 you will receive a response within twenty working days. If your enquiry is related to invoking your rights as set out under Data Protection legislation, you will receive a response within one calendar month.

Please ensure you send all correspondence to the [Conwy Council request email] email address quoting reference number 3977.

This email and any attachments may contain confidential material and are solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you must not use, retain or disclose any information contained in this email. For details of our privacy notice click here Privacy-Notice

ERF Freedom Of Information, Conwy County Borough Council

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Please find below information in response to your Freedom of Information
request.

 

+-------------------------------+
|FOI Details |Response |
|-------------+-----------------|
|I would be |Symology |
|most grateful| |
|if you would | |
|provide me, | |
|under the | |
|Freedom of | |
|Information | |
|Act, the | |
|following | |
|details: | |
| | |
|•           | |
|What software| |
|you are using| |
|for your | |
|highway/roads| |
|asset | |
|management? | |
|-------------+-----------------|
|•           |The system is not|
|What is the |limited to |
|annual spend |highway |
|on this |maintenance and |
|contract? |covers many |
| |services (e.g. |
| |Street lighting, |
| |parks, |
| |playgrounds, |
| |Structures, |
| |Customer |
| |Services, |
| |Cleansing etc.) |
| |across DCC & CCBC|
| |so we are unable |
| |to         break |
| |down the cost of |
| |this software per|
| |Authority |
| |specifically for |
| |highway |
| |maintenance/road |
| |asset management.|
|-------------+-----------------|
|•           |The contract was |
|What are the |started in 2004 |
|start date & |and is subject to|
|duration of |annual |
|the contract?|renewal/extension|
|-------------+-----------------|
|•           |See above |
|Is there an | |
|extension | |
|clause in the| |
|contract and,| |
|if so, the | |
|duration of | |
|the | |
|extension? | |
|-------------+-----------------|
|•           |Yes |
|Has a | |
|decision been| |
|made yet on | |
|whether the | |
|contract is | |
|being either | |
|extended or | |
|renewed? | |
|-------------+-----------------|
|•           |Sophie |
|Who is the |Birchall-Rogerson|
|senior | |
|officer | |
|(outside of | |
|procurement) | |
|responsible | |
|for this | |
|contract? | |
+-------------------------------+

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of this response and
should be sent to the address below.

Please ensure all email correspondence is sent to the
[1][Conwy Council request email] email address.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, or if you
are unhappy with this response you may appeal to the Information
Commissioner’s Office – Wales, 2nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way,
Cardiff, CF10 2HH.

Yr Amgylchedd, Ffyrdd a Chyfleusterau/Environment, Roads & Facilities

Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy/Conwy County Borough Council  

[2]Sefyllfa Bresennol Gwasanaethau'r Cyngor   |   [3]Council Services
Current Situation

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn y Gymraeg a’r Saesneg fel ei gilydd. Ni
fydd gohebiaeth yn yr un iaith na’r llall yn arwain at unrhyw oedi. We
welcome correspondence in both Welsh and English. We will respond to
correspondence in either language without delay. [4][USEMAP]

show quoted sections

Dear ERF Freedom Of Information,

Thanks for the info supplied so far

What is the total annual amount spent with Symology for all areas?

In what month/date is the next annual renewal due?

Yours sincerely,

George Peters

Dear Conwy County Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Conwy County Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Highway/Roads Asset Management'.

I note that you have not confirmed or denied whether the authority holds this information, and have not applied an exemption that would remove this obligation.
As you may be aware, Section 1(1) of the FOI Act (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200...) states that "Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request".
I would be grateful if you could clarify whether or not this information is held, or specify which exemption of the duty to confirm or deny you are applying.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/h...

Yours faithfully,

George Peters

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Diolch am eich neges e-bost. Os ydych yn gofyn am fynediad at wybodaeth
dan delerau Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 cewch ymateb o fewn ugain
niwrnod gwaith.

Thank you for your email. If you are requesting access to information
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you will receive a
response within twenty working days.

show quoted sections

Conwy County Borough Council

Dear G Peters

Thank you for your enquiry 6149.

If you are requesting access to information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulation 2004 you will receive a response within twenty working days. If your enquiry is related to invoking your rights as set out under Data Protection legislation, you will receive a response within one calendar month.

Please ensure you send all correspondence to the [Conwy Council request email] email address quoting reference number 6149.

This email and any attachments may contain confidential material and are solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you must not use, retain or disclose any information contained in this email. For details of our privacy notice click here Privacy-Notice

Conwy County Borough Council

Dear G Peters,

Thank you for your enquiry 6149.

Your internal review request is acknowledged. It will be dealt with and a
response issued shortly.

 

If you are requesting access to information under the terms of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulation 2004
you will receive a response within twenty working days. If your enquiry is
related to invoking your rights as set out under Data Protection
legislation, you will receive a response within one calendar month.

Please ensure you send all correspondence to the
[1][Conwy Council request email] email address quoting reference number 6149.

This email and any attachments may contain confidential material and are
solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you have received this
email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this
email. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you must not use, retain
or disclose any information contained in this email. For details of our
privacy notice click here Privacy-Notice

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Conwy Council request email]

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Dear Requester,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) 0752-21-IR/6149 – Outcome of
Internal Review

Thank you for your Internal Review request dated 19/07/2022 regarding a
Freedom of Information request (0752-21/3978) in which you asked for:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Dear FOI Team, │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│I would be most grateful if you would provide me, under the Freedom of │
│Information Act, the following details: │
│ │
│•What software you are using for your highway/roads asset management? │
│ │
│•What is the annual spend on this contract? │
│ │
│•What are the start date & duration of the contract? │
│ │
│•Is there an extension clause in the contract and, if so, the duration │
│of the extension? │
│ │
│•Has a decision been made yet on whether the contract is being either │
│extended or renewed? │
│ │
│•Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this│
│contract? │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│Thank you for your help. │
│ │
│Yours sincerely, │
│ │
│G Peters │
│ │
│  │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The purpose of an Internal Review is to assess how your Freedom of
Information request was handled in the first instance and to determine
whether the original decision given to you was correct. This is an
independent review: I was not involved in the original decision.

Your original request was submitted on the 04/02/2022 and the response was
issued on the 18/03/2022. You were advised the following:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│1. Symology │
│ │
│2. The system is not limited to highway maintenance and covers many │
│services (e.g. Street lighting, parks, playgrounds, Structures, Customer│
│Services, Cleansing etc.) across DCC & CCBC so we are unable to break │
│down the cost of this software per Authority specifically for highway │
│maintenance/road asset management. │
│ │
│3. The contract was started in 2004 and is subject to annual │
│renewal/extension │
│ │
│4. See above │
│ │
│5. Yes │
│ │
│6. Sophie Birchall-Rogerson │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The request for clarification on our response was received on 11/04/2022
and stated:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Dear ERF Freedom Of Information, │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│Thanks for the info supplied so far │
│ │
│What is the total annual amount spent with Symology for all areas? │
│ │
│In what month/date is the next annual renewal due? │
│ │
│Yours sincerely, │
│ │
│George Peters │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

You internal review request was received 19/07/2022 and stated:

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Dear Conwy County Borough Council, │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews. │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│I am writing to request an internal review of Conwy County Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Highway/Roads Asset Management'. │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│I note that you have not confirmed or denied whether the authority holds this information, and have not applied an exemption that would remove this obligation. │
│ │
│As you may be aware, Section 1(1) of the FOI Act │
│([1]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.... ) states that │
│"Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request". │
│ │
│I would be grateful if you could clarify whether or not this information is held, or specify which exemption of the duty to confirm or deny you are applying. │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: │
│[2]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
│ │
│  │
│ │
│Yours faithfully, │
│ │
│  │
│ │
│George Peters │
│ │
│  │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

 

I have concluded the information provided in our response in relation to
FOI request 0752-21/3978 was correct based on the records held by Conwy
County Borough Council, however, we do accept that additional
clarification on specific details would have made our response clearer.
Therefore I have updated our response in relation to the clarification
questions below:

·         What is the total annual amount spent with Symology for all
areas?

The Symology IT system is not limited to highway maintenance and covers
many services (e.g. Street lighting, parks, playgrounds, Structures,
Customer Services, Cleansing etc.) across both Denbighshire County Council
& Conwy County Borough Council. Due to the IT application being a shared
platform, we are unable to break down the cost of this software per
Authority/Service Area, specifically for highway maintenance/road asset
management as this information is not held.

·         In what month/date is the next annual renewal due?

At the time of your initial request, Conwy County Borough Council were
still negotiating with our supplier in connection with the Symology
contract. The contract has since been finalised and the signed contract
was returned on 17th June 2022. The contract is for a further 4 years from
April 2022. The renewal date for the Symology Contract was 01/04/22

With regards to your query ‘I note that you have not confirmed or denied
whether the authority holds this information, and have not applied an
exemption that would remove this obligation.’.

A response for each question was provided, so there was no requirement to
provide a “duty to confirm or deny” statement and no exemption was
applied. Conwy County Borough Council was compliant with Act as stipulated
in Section 1(5) of the FOI Act, as shown below.

(5)A public authority is to be taken to have complied with subsection
(1)(a) in relation to any information if it has communicated the
information to the applicant in accordance with subsection (1)(b).

In regards to the assessment of the timeframe in providing you with a
response to your request as set out within the Freedom of Information Act
2000. I can confirm that in this instance we have not achieved the twenty
working days response target. As you will appreciate at the current time
and in light of the unprecedented challenges still posed by the
coronavirus pandemic, in regards to resource allocation, we continue to
make every effort to comply with any relevant timescales that might apply
to an enquiry, however the wellbeing, safety and security of our staff and
the public remains our primary concern and it is with this in mind that
some slippage might occur with regards to the timely provision of any
response, unfortunately on this occasion, this is the case with regards to
our response to you and we apologise for the delay.

This therefore concludes the Internal Review of your information request. 
If you disagree with the outcome you should contact the Information
Commissioner’s Office whose contact details are below:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office – Wales
2nd Floor
Churchill House
Churchill Way
Cardiff
CF10 2HH

 

Email: [3][email address]

 

Yours sincerely

Uned Llywodreathu Gwybodaeth / Information Goverance Unit

Cyngor Bwrdeistef Sirol CONWY County Borough Council
E-Bost / E-Mail: [4][Conwy Council request email]

 

 

 

From: George Peters <[FOI #830328 email]>
Sent: 19 July 2022 13:40
To: Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit <[Conwy Council request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Highway/Roads
Asset Management

 

Dear Conwy County Borough Council, Please pass this on to the person who
conducts Freedom of Information reviews.⁠​ I am writing to request an
internal review of Conwy County Borough Council's handling of my FOI
request 'Highway/Roads Asset Management'.⁠​

Dear Conwy County Borough Council,

 

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

 

I am writing to request an internal review of Conwy County Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Highway/Roads Asset Management'.

 

I note that you have not confirmed or denied whether the authority holds this information, and have not applied an exemption that would remove this obligation.

As you may be aware, Section 1(1) of the FOI Act ([5]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.... ) states that "Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request".

I would be grateful if you could clarify whether or not this information is held, or specify which exemption of the duty to confirm or deny you are applying.

 

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: [6]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

 

Yours faithfully,

 

George Peters

 

 

 

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[7][FOI #830328 email]

 

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[10]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

 

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