Procurement process for Corelogic Mosaic

The request was refused by Sutton Borough Council.

Dear Sutton Borough Council,

In the following FOI respone: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...

you state that the Council has moved to the Mosaic system from Corelogic : "This is an extension from original contract for Corelogic Frameworki and could be considered as an update but is in effect a new system."

Q1: How much did the Council pay Corelogic in software licences and implementation services to move from Frameworki to Mosaic?
Q2: How much did the Council pay external agencies (eg consultants) to assist with the move to Mosaic?
Q3: What procurement process did the Council follow prior to committing to moving to Mosaic?
Q4: How long was the implementation process?

Yours faithfully,

David Hanson

LBS FOI, Sutton Borough Council

Dear Mr Hanson
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - INFORMATION REQUEST - REF NO
- F11575 (please quote in correspondence)
I acknowledge your request for information dated the 27 November 2017
relating to Procurement Process For Corelogic Mosaic.
Your request is being considered and, if it is held, you will receive the
information requested within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as
defined by the Freedom of Information Act 2000, subject to the information
not being exempt or containing a reference to a third party.
If appropriate, the information may be provided in paper copy, normal font
size.  If you require alternative formats, e.g. language, audio, large
print, etc. then please let us know.
For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions which may
prevent release of the information you have requested.  There will be an
assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then the
information will not be released.  You will be informed if this is the
case, including your rights of appeal.
If the information you request contains reference to a third party then
they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to
release the information to you.  You will be informed if this is the case.
A fee may be payable for this information.  This will be considered and
you will be informed if a fee is payable.  In this event the fee must be
paid before the information is processed and released.  The 20 working day
time limit is suspended until receipt of the payment.
Please be advised that in line with London Borough of Sutton's commitment
to transparency, in due course an anonymous copy of your request and our
response may be published on our website.
Yours sincerely
FOI Admin Officer
London Borough of Sutton

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Barry Holland, Sutton Borough Council

Dear Mr Hanson

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - INFORMATION REQUEST - REF NO
- F11575 (please quote in correspondence)

  

I refer to your request for information received on 27 November
2017 concerning Procurement Process For Corelogic Mosaic.

I apologise for the delay in responding.  

 

 Q1: How much did the Council pay Corelogic in software licences and
implementation services to move from Frameworki to Mosaic?

answer  withheld (under section 43(2) information prejudice to
commercial interests

Q2: How much did the Council pay external agencies (eg consultants) to
assist with the move to Mosaic?

£Nil
Q3: What procurement process did the Council follow prior to
committing to moving to Mosaic?

The council had procured Frameworki through a Westminster 10 year
framework contract, the initial five year call off was extended by
ASSHe committee decision to the maximum period allowed by the
framework, this included the migration to the latest version of
Framework (Mosaic).
Q4: How long was the implementation process?

Seven months

  

If you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled
you have the right to ask for an internal review.  Please notify us in
writing as soon as possible with the grounds upon which you feel the
appeal is justified to : [1][Sutton Borough Council request email]  or by post to Customer
Care and Improvement Team, Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way, Sutton,
Surrey, SM1 1EA.

We aim to respond to you within 20 working days of receiving your
request. If it is going to take longer we will let you know.

 

Should you still be dissatisfied with the outcome you have the right
to refer to the Information Commissioner: Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF[2] www.ico.org.uk

 

Yours sincerely

Barry Holland
Strategic Support Services Manager

Strategic Support Services
People Directorate
London Borough of Sutton
Civic Offices
St. Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1EA

T: 020 8770 5556
M: 07793696591

[3]www.sutton.gov.uk

Follow us on [4]LinkedIn | [5]Twitter | [6]Facebook

Disclaimers apply, for full details see : 
(https://www.sutton.gov.uk/info/200436/cu...)

References

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Dear Sutton Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Sutton Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Procurement process for Corelogic Mosaic'.

I do not accept that the Council has the right to refuse to disclose how much it paid in licences and implementation services. Whilst the supplier might not like the information being disclosed, the local authority has a public duty to do so.

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

Yours faithfully,

David Hanson

LBS FOI, Sutton Borough Council

Dear Mr Hanson,
I acknowledge your request for a review into the handling of your request
for information under our ref F11575. 

The Customer Care and Improvement team will arrange for a review of our
handling of your original request. We aim to complete this review within
20 working days from the date of your email below. This is in accordance
with the council's complaints procedure, and in line with ICO guidance. If
you remain unhappy following the outcome of the appeal you may then refer
to the Office of the Information Commissioner. 

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact the FOI Admin
Officer, London Borough of Sutton, Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way, Sutton
SM1 1EA or email [1][Sutton Borough Council request email]

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
[2]www.ico.org.uk
Yours Sincerely
FOI Admin Officer
London Borough Of Sutton

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LBS FOI, Sutton Borough Council

Dear Mr Hanson
Freedom Of Information Request F11575 Internal Review
I refer to your email of 02 January 2018 stating that:
"I am writing to request an internal review of Sutton Borough Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Procurement process for Corelogic Mosaic'.
I do not accept that the Council has the right to refuse to disclose how
much it paid in licences and implementation services. Whilst the supplier
might not like the information being disclosed, the local authority has a
public duty to do so."
Background
You made an application for information dated the 27 November 2017 in
which you requested:
"In the following FOI
respone: [1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...

you state that the Council has moved to the Mosaic system from Corelogic :
"This is an extension from original contract for Corelogic Frameworki and
could be considered as an update but is in effect a new system."

Q1: How much did the Council pay Corelogic in software licences and
implementation services to move from Frameworki to Mosaic?
Q2: How much did the Council pay external agencies (eg consultants) to
assist with the move to Mosaic?
Q3: What procurement process did the Council follow prior to committing to
moving to Mosaic?
Q4: How long was the implementation process?"
A response was sent to you on 02 January 2018 as follows:
"I refer to your request for information received on 27 November
2017 concerning Procurement Process For Corelogic Mosaic.
I apologise for the delay in responding.
Q1: How much did the Council pay Corelogic in software licences and
implementation services to move from Frameworki to Mosaic?
answer withheld (under section 43(2) information prejudice to commercial
interests
Q2: How much did the Council pay external agencies (eg consultants) to
assist with the move to Mosaic?
£Nil
Q3: What procurement process did the Council follow prior to committing to
moving to Mosaic?
The council had procured Frameworki through a Westminster 10 year
framework contract, the initial five year call off was extended by ASSHe
committee decision to the maximum period allowed by the framework, this
included the migration to the latest version of Framework (Mosaic).
Q4: How long was the implementation process?
Seven months"
Investigation
A review of the response you have received for question 1 of your original
request has now been carried out and the Council’s response is set out
below. During our investigation we have taken advice from Barry
Holland, Strategic Support Services Manager as well as referring to
guidance from the ICO's website. We have also reviewed your original
request and our response to it.
I apologise that a full explanation was not provided to you within our
original refusal to disclose this information. I can confirm that the
public interest test was carried out. The full refusal that should have
been communicated to you and the reasons for maintaining this exemption
are as follows:

"Your request for this information has been refused under section 43(2) of
the FOIA because the disclosure information would, or would be likely to,
prejudice the commercial interests of the Local Authority and any
3^rd party.   

 

Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption which requires the application of
the public interest test. After applying the public interest test it has
been concluded that the information should be withheld because the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in
disclosure. The factors that weighed in favour of maintaining this
exemption are as follows:

 

o Releasing this information is not in the public interest because if
individual elements of the contract relating to Corelogic/Mosaic was
released into the public domain this would have the effect of stifling
competition and development thereby reducing value for money;
o Disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of
the Local Authority by affecting adversely its bargaining position
during contractual negotiations;
o Disclosure would make it more difficult for the specific contractor to
be able to conduct commercial transactions or have dealings with this
council without fear of suffering commercially as a result;

The information is not common knowledge and could be used in a particular
market to gain competitive advantage." 
In order to be able to rely on the exemption of section 43(2), the Council
must be satisfied that the disclosure of the information requested “would,
or would be likely to, cause prejudice to, the commercial interests of any
person (including the public authority holding it).” Prejudice is not
defined beyond a general definition of “harm”, please see below
clarification of this. Here is a link to the relevant guidance from the
Information Commissioner’s Office:

[2]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

 

You will see that one of the categories of commercial interest listed is
the authority’s “own commercial interests.”  

The other key concepts within section 43(2) are:

1.      “likely to cause” 

2.      “prejudice”

In the ICO guidance to which I have referred, the first matter is
considered under a heading “Prejudice test” (paragraphs 16-21). Paragraph
18 says that “likely to cause prejudice” requires only “that there must be
a more than hypothetical or remote possibility of prejudice occurring and
“there must be a real and significant risk of prejudice, even though the
probability of prejudice occurring is less than 50%.” This is a low
threshold.

The meaning of “prejudice" is further considered in separate guidance via
the below link:

 

[3]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

 

Paragraph 13 of that advice refers to prejudice as meaning “harm”.
Paragraph 15 then summarises the overall approach to be taken, and on this
basis:

·       The nature of the prejudice is that as set out above in the
refusal notice you should have received within the initial response; 

·       There is a real and significant risk of prejudice occurring.

Therefore, I am satisfied that the Section 43(2) exemption does apply.  

Conclusion

 

In conclusion, I believe that your original request was answered
truthfully, accurately and with the correct use of exemptions. Your appeal
is therefore denied and I am sorry not to be able to assist you further,
but if you remain unhappy with the outcome of this reconsideration you may
refer to the Information Commissioner's Office. We will cooperate fully
with any investigation she undertakes. Further information can be found on
their website.

[4]www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Scott Brewer
Customer Care And Improvement Officer

Customers, Commissioning And Governance Division
Chief Executive's Directorate
London Borough of Sutton
Civic Offices
St. Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1EA

T: 020 8770 5736

[5]www.sutton.gov.uk

Follow us on [6]LinkedIn | [7]Twitter | [8]Facebook

Disclaimers apply, for full details see : 
(https://www.sutton.gov.uk/info/200436/cu...)

References

Visible links
1. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...
2. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
3. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
4. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
5. http://www.sutton.gov.uk/
6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/london-...
7. https://twitter.com/SuttonCouncil?ref_sr...
8. http://facebook.com/SuttonCouncil

Dear LBS FOI,

Thank you for having the courtesy to reply.

I can not say that I am happy with the response, and I will, indeed, consider a formal complaint to the ICO. This is public money. Other councils have answered very similar queries without the world exploding. The responses in those cases were quite concerning - councils spending £500k - £800k moving from one Corelogic system to another.

If your costs are in this range then you know, as well as I do, that EU and English law requires that the council goes through a formal tendering procedure.

Yours sincerely,

David Hanson