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Orthodontic Tender- NHSE188f

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Dear NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit,

Can you please answer a few questions regarding the recent Orthodontics tender NHSE188f.

1) Can you please detail the total number of people employed to score/mark the bids.
2) Can you please provide me with the documentation each individual assessor/marker was provided by NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit in order to score the bids accurately (this may be in the form of a sheet with key words to look out for in the bid, scoring criteria, marking scheme etc).
3) Can you please detail how many bids each person assessed (on average)
4) Can you please detail how many bids were received
5) Can you please tell me how many moderators were employed for this tender?

Yours faithfully,

Adam Kettle

FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24), NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit

Dear Adam Kettle,

 

Thank you for your communication dated 29 August 2019,

 

NHS England has assessed your communication as a request under the Freedom
of Information (FOI) Act 2000. As such, please be assured that your
request is being dealt with under the terms of the FOI Act and will be
answered within twenty working days.

 

For further information regarding the FOI Act, please refer to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. For further information
regarding NHS England and the information it publishes please visit our
website here.

 

If you have any queries about this request or wish to contact us again,
please email [1][email address] and the message will be
forwarded appropriately. Please remember to quote the above reference
number in any future communications.

 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows:- PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [2][email address] .

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Freedom of Information

Corporate Communications Team

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Tel: 0300 311 22 33

Email: [3][email address]

 

‘Health and High quality care for all, now and for future generations’

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Dear FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24),

Yours sincerely,

Adam

Dear FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24),

Can you please inform me when will my FOI request will be answered?

Yours sincerely,

Adam

FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24), NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit

Dear Adam Kettle,

 

We are writing with regard to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request
dated 29 August 2019.

 

Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request.
NHS England is not in a position to respond to your request at this time.
We are still in the process of assessing your request and will provide you
with a full response as soon as possible.

 

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Please be aware that
you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: [1][email address]  

Website: [2]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows: PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [3][email address].

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Freedom of Information

Corporate Communications Team

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Tel: 0300 311 22 33

Email: [4][email address]

 

‘Health and high quality care for all, now and for future generations’

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FOI, England (NHS ENGLAND & NHS IMPROVEMENT - X24), NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit

Dear Adam Kettle,

 

Re: Freedom of Information request (Our Ref: FOI-060090)

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 20 August
2019. Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in providing you
with a response.

 

Your exact request was:

 

“Can you please answer a few questions regarding the recent Orthodontics
tender NHSE188f.

 

1) Can you please detail the total number of people employed to score/mark
the bids.

2) Can you please provide me with the documentation each individual
assessor/marker was provided by NHS North of England Commissioning Support
Unit in order to score the bids accurately (this may be in the form of a
sheet with key words to look out for in the bid, scoring criteria, marking
scheme etc).

3) Can you please detail how many bids each person assessed (on average)

4) Can you please detail how many bids were received

5) Can you please tell me how many moderators were employed for this
tender?”

NHS England holds information in relation to your request.

 

However, we consider that this information exempt under Section 43(2) of
the FOI Act.

 

Section 43 is a ‘qualified exemption’. This means that NHS England is
required to demonstrate the prejudice (damage or harm) which would occur
if the information were to be released, and to consider whether the public
interest is in favour of releasing the information regardless.

 

The release of the scoring criteria for this process would prejudice the
commercial interests of the current providers as the information could be
used to undercut the current providers at subsequent tendering processes
for this service.

 

This would harm business confidence with the relevant suppliers and could
potentially dissuade other suppliers from taking part in future tendering
processes.

 

We have also considered whether the public interest is, on balance, in
favour of releasing the information regardless of the prejudice set out
above. Our balancing exercise is set out below.

 

NHS England is committed to providing information in an open and
transparent manner. There is an inherent public interest in being able to
request and receive information under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act. We recognise that there is a public interest in informing
the public of the activities carried out on their behalf, allowing for
more user involvement and collaborative decision making. We also recognise
that sharing this information would enable the public to better scrutinise
the public monies spent.

 

However, we also consider that there are public interest factors in favour
of withholding the information.

 

Specifically, the release of this information would disadvantage the
current contract holders and disincentivise them and potentially others
from engaging with NHS England in future procurement processes as set out
above.

 

This would limit the pool of potential companies bidding for these
services and jeopardise NHS England’s ability to seek best value for
money. It would also weaken the working relationship between NHS England
and current providers leading to a potential chilling effect in discussion
and review of the service.

 

In this case, the public interest is therefore in favour of withholding
the requested information.

 

Copyright: NHS England operates under the terms of the open government
licence. Please see the [1]NHS England Terms and Conditions.

 

We hope this information is helpful. However, if you are dissatisfied, you
have the right to ask for an internal review. This should be requested in
writing within two months of the date of this letter. Your correspondence
should be labelled “Internal Review” and should outline your concerns
and/or the area(s) you would like the review to consider. Internal Review
requests should be sent to:

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Email: [2][email address]

 

Please quote the reference number FOI-060090in any future communications.

 

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’s Office (ICO) can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: [3][email address]  

Website: [4]www.ico.org.uk

 

Please note there is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Please be aware that in line with the Information Commissioner’s directive
on the disclosure of information under the FOI Act, your request will be
anonymised and published on our website as part of our disclosure log.

 

Please do not reply to this email. This message has been sent from a
central mailbox. To communicate with NHS England regarding Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests, enquiries or complaints we ask these are sent
directly to NHS England’s customer contact centre. This is to ensure all
communications are progressed correctly. Their postal address, telephone
number and email details are as follows: PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT;
0300 3 11 22 33, [5][email address].

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Freedom of Information

Corporate Communications Team

Transformation and Corporate Operations Directorate

 

NHS England

PO Box 16738

REDDITCH

B97 9PT

 

Tel: 0300 311 22 33

Email: [6][email address]

 

 

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Adam please sign in and let everyone know.