Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Area 1D, Ergon House
Horseferry Road
London SW1P 2AL
Telephone 08459 33 55 77
Website www.defra.gov.uk
John Wicker
E-mail
: request-101757-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Our ref RFI 4527
Date: 22 February 2012
Dear John
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: IT SUPPORT SERVICES
Thank you for your request for information on Defra’s hardware and maintenance costs,
which we received on 25 January 2012. As you know we have handled your request under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 We are also responding on behalf of a number of
Defra network organisations who have also received your request, these include core
Defra, Natual England (NE), Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), Inland Waterways
Advisory Council (IWAC), Science Advisory Council (SAC), Advisory Committee on
Packaging (ACP) and Farm Animal Genetic Resources Committee (FAnGR).
Following careful consideration, we have decided not to disclose some of this information.
I enclose a copy of the information which can be disclosed.
The cost and duration of said contracts, with start and end dates and the names of
the suppliers of aforementioned support services.
The majority of Defra’s IT needs, including hardware and maintenance services, are
provided by IBM United Kingdom Ltd under an outsource contract, which started on 19th
July 2004 and ends on 31st January 2018. Expenditure under this contract in 2010/11
was £99.1m. Additional information on actual expenditure is available on No. 10 Downing
Street website
(http://data.gov.uk/dataset/financial-transactions-data-defra). As well as the main IBM contract there are a number of other IT contracts (and inhouse
hardware and maintenance support), throughout the Defra network. Although, not a
definitive list some of these are detailed below:
Atos IT Services UK Limited;
Accenture; and
Cap Gemini.
The name of the person responsible for the Defra network maintenance support contracts
is available the Defra website
(http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-
structure/organogram/?dept=defra&post=1). As the information is publicly available from
the above source, we are exempt from providing the information under section 21 of the
Freedom of Information Act.
The remainder of the information requested –
a list of the models of the physical
servers, storage devices, tape libraries, network switches and routers under
support contracts; and service level associated with the equipment; - is being
withheld as it falls under section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which
relate(s) to information that is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person. (A
person may be an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal
entity).
Although, I can confirm we hold the information you have requested (a list of the models of
the physical servers, storage devices, tape libraries, network switches and routers under
support contracts), providing the information may prejudice the commercial interests of the
company involved.
In applying this exemption we have had to balance the public interest in withholding the
information against the public interest in disclosure. We recognise that there is a public
interest in disclosure of information concerning IT hardware (models of the physical
servers, storage devices, tape libraries, network switches and routers) and other
information related to the contract especially in view of the current Governments
transparency agenda.
On the other hand, there is a strong public interest in withholding the information because
disclosure of such information would undermine the existing contract by creating an
environment where third parties may offer to under cut the contract unaware of the full
services being offered as part of the existing contract. This would also threaten any future
contract negotiations with the existing suppliers or any new suppliers.
Therefore, we have concluded that in all the circumstances of the case, the information
should be withheld.
In keeping with the spirit and effect of the FOIA, all information is assumed to be
releasable to the public unless exempt. The information released to you may now be
published on our website together with any related information that will provide a key to its
wider context.
I attach Annex A, which explains the copyright that applies to the information being
released to you.
I also attach Annex B giving contact details should you be unhappy with the service you
have received.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.
Yours sincerely
Luyi Brown
Email
xx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Annex A
Copyright
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright. You are free to
use it for your own purposes, including for private study and non-commercial research,
and for any other purpose authorised by an exception in current copyright law. Documents
(except photographs) can be also used in the UK without requiring permission for the
purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would
require the permission of the copyright holder.
Most documents produced by Defra will be protected by Crown Copyright. Most Crown
copyright information can be re-used under the
Open Government Licence. For
information about the OGL and about re-using Crown Copyright information please see
The National Archives website. Copyright in other documents may rest with a third party. For information about obtaining
permission from a third party see the
Intellectual Property Office’s website.
_________________________________________
Annex B
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request you may
make a complaint or appeal against our decision within 40 working days of the date of this
letter. Please write to Brendan Walsh, Head of Defra’s Information Rights Team at
Area1B, Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AL, (email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx) and he will arrange for an internal review of your case.
Details of Defra’s complaints procedure are on ou
r website. 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. Please note that generally the
Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted
Defra’s own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF