Dear Tim Campbell

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for information below and to let you know it is being processed.

We'll get back to you as soon as we can, but in any case within 20 working days from 21/10/22.

Please quote the reference number, IMPS#03431, in any future correspondence, thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Sinead Latham

Information Management & Policy Services (IMPS), University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AH
t: +44 (0)118 378 8981 www.reading.ac.uk/foia

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Dear Tim Campbell, 

We have completed the compilation of information in response to your
request.

We can confirm that we do hold some information of the description
specified in your request. Our responses are given below each limb of your
request.

************ FOI RESPONSE ************

Lift Maintenance and Servicing:

The details we require are:

• Suppliers who applied for inclusion on each framework/contract and were
successful & not successful at the PQQ & ITT stages

This information is withheld under Section 43 of the FOIA. Section 43(2)
of the FOI allows a public authority to withhold information when its
disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of either
the University or any third party. This exemption applies because the
information is identified as being both sensitive and commercial to a
third party.

Using the FOI s43 exemption requires the University to undertake a public
interest test. The University appreciates that there is an inherent public
interest in ensuring openness, transparency and accountability around any
contract to which it is a party, and the procurement process which the
University undertakes.

However, the public interest in disclosure needs to be balanced against
the public interest in withholding the information. In this case
disclosure of ‘suppliers who applied for inclusion on each
framework/contract and were successful & not successful at the PQQ’ stage
would be likely to prejudice both the University’s position and that of
the supplier by disclosing commercially sensitive information to the wider
public, which at time of receipt of request has not been finalised.

All disclosures made under FOI are potentially to the world at large, and
therefore those competitive markets. Rival organisations could use this
information to against suppliers. Outcomes would be likely to prejudice
the negotiating position of the suppliers, who in turn, along with other
suppliers may then be less likely to conduct further business with the
University, which would be likely to have a negative effect on the
University’s service provision and, quite possibly, revenue streams. It
may even prejudice its core business functions and undermine its ability
to fulfil its wider role as an institution dedicated to teaching and
learning, which is clearly not in the public interest. For the reasons
above, the balance of public interest tips in favour of withholding this
information from disclosure at this time.

We understand commercial sensitivity may decrease over time and once
suppliers have been notified whether they were successful or unsuccessful
at both PQQ and ITT stages the detriment in disclosure may diminish.

• Start date & duration of framework/contract?

Start date is expected to be 1st December 2022. See attached document
titled, ‘Lift Specification’ for duration.

• Could you please provide a copy of the service/product specification
given to all bidders for when this contract was last advertised?

See attached document titled, ‘Lift Specification’

• Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this
contract?

This information is personal data, specifically the names of some
University employees.

This information has been withheld under section 40(2) of the FOIA by
virtue of s40 (3)(a)(i). 
 
Section 40(2) of the FOIA allows a public authority to withhold
information from a response to a request under the FOIA when the
information requested is personal data relating to someone other than the
requestor, and its disclosure would breach any of the Data Protection
principles.
 
In this case we believe that the disclosure of the name of this individual
would not be within their reasonable expectations and as such would be
unfair and in breach of the first data protection principle which requires
personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully.

Contact details for suppliers can be found at:
https://www.reading.ac.uk/procurement/in...

************* END **************

The supply of documents and information under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 does not give the applicant or whoever receives the
information any right to re-use it in such a way that might infringe the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), for example, by making
multiple copies, publishing or otherwise distributing the information to
other individuals and the public. Breach of copyright law is an actionable
offence and the University expressly reserves its rights and remedies
available to it pursuant to the CDPA and common law.

We are required to include details of our complaints procedures, including
your rights to apply to the Information Commissioner.  The procedure is
detailed in our Freedom of Information and Environmental Information
Regulations policy on the web at
[1]www.reading.ac.uk/freedom-of-information-policy

If we are unable to resolve any complaint, you can complain to the
Information Commissioner, the independent body who oversees the access to
information regimes: [2]https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ 

Yours sincerely, 

Sinead Latham

Information Compliance Officer

Information Management & Policy Services (IMPS), University of Reading,
Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AH

[3][University of Reading request email]    t: +44 (0)118 378 8981   
[4]www.reading.ac.uk/foia

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