Freedom of Information Request - Secure Communication
Dear Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council,
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Specifically, I am seeking information regarding your secure communication.
Please provide me with the following information:
1. What is your current email provider (e.g. Outlook or G-suite)?
2. Do you have a solution for secure email in place (Y/N)?
3. Who is your current email security provider (e.g. Egress)?
4. When is the contract up for renewal?
5. Typically what is the chosen duration of these contracts 12, 24, or 36 Months?
6. Name and contact details of the person responsible?
7. Current annual spend for this contract?
8. Current number of licences for this contract?
9. Did you purchase via a reseller (if yes, please specify who)?
Budget & procurement
10. Are you planning on assigning specific budgets for securing email communication
in 2023?
11. Do you procure through the G-Cloud framework (if not, how do you procure &
plan to procure secure email in the future)?
Please acknowledge receipt of this request as soon as possible and, in any event, within 20 working days as required by the Act. I understand that under the Act, you are required to provide the information requested unless you have a valid reason for not doing so. If you do not have the information requested, please advise me as to what further action I should take.
If any of the information requested is exempt under the Act, please indicate which exemption applies and explain why it applies.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Tristan Durley
Thank you for your e-mail, requesting that certain information is made available to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The Council has now started to process your request.
The Council always aims to disclose information as quickly as possible. However, if for some reason we cannot complete your request within 20 working days (ie by 03/05/2023) we will write to you again before that date to explain why and to let you know when you will receive the information. Please remember that documents sent by post may take few extra days to reach you.
The Council will normally disclose all the information which you have requested unless there is a good reason for not doing so. If any information will not be disclosed because it is exempt, we will write to you and explain why. Please note that, whilst the Council will disclose documents which already exist and which contain the information which you have requested, the Council is not required to compile documents specifically to deal with your request.
Once the information has been identified, the Council can also ask that you pay a fee to cover the costs of any printing, photocopying, postage, etc., for processing and delivering the information to you. Details of any fee to be paid will be notified to you as soon as possible.
Please quote the reference number 23/238 in any future correspondence about this request.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, then you may ask the Council to conduct an internal review of your case by writing to the Council’s FOI Team ([Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council request email]). If you are still not content after the Council has conducted an internal review of your case, then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by the Borough Council.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted in writing at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Please quote the reference number at the top of this email in any future correspondence about this request.
Adrian Stanfield
Freedom of Information Co-Ordinator
website: www.tmbc.gov.uk
Dear Tristan,
I am responding to your Freedom of Information request. Please see my responses to your questions below.
Q1. What is your current email provider (e.g. Outlook or G-suite)?
A1. Outlook 365
Q2. Do you have a solution for secure email in place (Y/N)?
A2. The Council's email is configured in accordance with government guidelines https://www.gov.uk/guidance/securing-gov...
Q3. Who is your current email security provider (e.g. Egress)?
A3. Email gateway security is provided as part of our membership of the KPSN (Kent Public Services Network) partnership, and via Forcepoint cloud products.
Q4. When is the contract up for renewal?
A4. The Council's is a member of the KPSN (Kent Public Services Network) partnership, rolling contract, billed 1st April annually. Forcepoint contract is due for renewal in August 2025.
Q5. Typically what is the chosen duration of these contracts 12, 24, or 36 Months?
A5. Forcepoint contract is 36 months.
Q6. Name and contact details of the person responsible?
A6. Ganesh Thangarajah, Head of IT, [email address]
Q7. Current annual spend for this contract?
A7. Forcepoint annual cost is approximately £14,000, and incudes other services in addition to email security.
Q8. Current number of licences for this contract?
A8. 500
Q9. Did you purchase via a reseller (if yes, please specify who)?
A9. Bytes
Budget & procurement
Q10. Are you planning on assigning specific budgets for securing email communication in 2023?
A10. No
Q11. Do you procure through the G-Cloud framework (if not, how do you procure & plan to procure secure email in the future)?
A11. GCloud is used by the Council, though not exclusively.
I hope that this satisfies your request.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, then you may ask the Council to conduct an internal review of your case by writing to the Council's FOI Team ([Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council request email]). If you are still not content after the Council has conducted an internal review of your case, then you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by the Borough Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted in writing at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Please quote the reference number at the top of this email in any future correspondence about this request.
Regards,
Vivien London
Technical Support Manager
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
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