Dear Mr Norton,

Thank you for your email of 9 November 2021 to Ards and North Down Borough Council’s FOI Team, received on 10 November.

We confirm your request for information regarding the procurement for the car park works at Portaferry Ropewalk will be processed as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Accordingly, you will receive the information you have requested within 20 working days of the date of receipt of your request by the Council unless the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason to withhold all or part of the information requested. The Council will write to you in any event.

For further information in relation to the Freedom of Information Act we would refer you to the Information Commissioner's Office website, www.ico.org.uk

If you wish to discuss the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

FOI Team
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT

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Dear Mr Norton,

We refer to the above matter and write further to our acknowledgement
email of 11^th December 2021. We apologise for the delay in processing
your request for information.

Your request has been processed by Ards and North Down Borough Council in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and please see the
Council’s response below.

1)      The name of the Contracting Authority for this tender Ards and
North Down Borough Council

2)      The procurement department responsible for overseeing this
procurement. Ards and North Down Borough Council’s Procurement Service
Unit

3)      Please provide a copy of the tender strategy document compiled
prior to the publication of the tender No recorded information held.
There was no formal procurement strategy as this was a low value works
tender.  The legislative process for works tenders under EU value was
applied.

4)      Please provide a copy of each document published as part of the
Tender (including but not limited to tender methodology, any terms and
conditions, pricing sheet, plans and drawings, etc) Please find attached:

o Document A – Refurbishment to Portaferry Rope Walk Scheme (FINAL)
o Document B – Minimum Standards of Experience – Main Contractor
o Document C – Minimum Standards of Experience – Electrical
Subcontractor
o Document D – Health and Safety Compliance Questionnaire
o Document E – Bill of Quantities
o A + B Health and Safety File Index Ropewalk
o C Pre-construction Information Ropewalk
o C11 Risk Register Ropewalk
o Zip-folder ‘Drawings’ – contains 10 drawings

Please note Information has been redacted within A + B Health and Safety
File Index Ropewalk and C Pre-construction Information Ropewalk on the
basis the information constitutes the personal data of individuals who
would hold a reasonable expectation their personal data would not be
disclosed to the world at large. The information has been redacted and
withheld in accordance with section 40(3A)(a) of the Freedom of
Information Act on the basis disclosure would contravene the first data
protection principle of lawful and fair processing.

5)      A summary of the tender scores for each tenderer (to have been
scored for quality and price) broken down, showing % score for Quality, %
score for Price and % Final Total Score

In relation to the results, the Council holds a Marking Frame for each
submitted tender, a Selection Stage Summary document and a Recommendation
for Award document dated 17^th August 2020.

Please find attached a redacted copy of the Recommendation for Award
document. The Council is withholding the Marking Frame for each submitted
tender, the Selection Stage Summary document and has redacted the names of
the companies and the breakdown of their scores within the Recommendation
for Award document in accordance with section 43(2) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 on the basis disclosure to the world at large would
prejudice the commercial interests of the Council. Disclosure of the
Marking Frames, Selection Stage Summary document and the breakdown of each
score and a score attributable to a company would be likely to provide
economic operators who may wish to participate in future similar
procurement exercises with an insight into competitors’ scoring and how
the Council assesses each procurement criteria. This would adversely
affect the ability of the Council in ensuring the greatest possible
competition between economic operators so that the Council can secure the
best possible value for money. This exemption to disclosure is subject to
the public interest test. The Council recognises the public interest in
transparency and accountability in its procurement activities. However,
the Council also recognises the public interest in ensuring it retains the
ability to compete fairly in a marketplace and in ensuring the greatest
possible competition between economic operators to secure the best
possible value for money. For these reasons, the Council considers the
public interest rests in redacting the breakdown of the scores and what
companies achieved which score so as to ensure the Council retains the
ability to secure the best possible value in any future procurement
activity.

Please note that the names of two individuals have been redacted within
the Recommendation for Award on the basis the information constitutes the
personal data of individuals who would hold a reasonable expectation their
personal data would not be disclosed to the world at large. The
information has been redacted and withheld in accordance with section
40(3A)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act on the basis disclosure would
contravene the first data protection principle of lawful and fair
processing.

6)      The numbers and names of all notices published by the Procurement
department and/or Contracting Authority in the OJEU supplement or Find a
Tender service (including but not limited to PIN Notice, Contract Notice,
Contract Award Notice, Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice) prior,
during and after the tender. As the tender value was under the EU
threshold for works, there was no OJEU notice.  The Find a Tender service
and the notices referred to above only apply to tenders over the EU
threshold following the exit from the EU by the UK.  The notice was
published on etendersNI and was advertised in the Belfast Telegraph and on
the Ards and North Down Borough Council website tenders’ section.

Should you require clarification on any matter, please do not hesitate to
contact us.

We trust this is of some assistance. However, should you be unhappy with
the response you may request an Internal Review by contacting
[1][Ards and North Down Borough Council request email]. Please note that requests for Internal
Reviews must be submitted within two months from the date of this
response. Further information on the Internal Review process is available
on the Council’s website. In the event you are unhappy with the outcome of
any Internal Review conducted by Council you may apply to the Information
Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a review of our response. Please note that
the ICO generally expects Internal Reviews to be completed prior to
reviewing the decisions of public bodies.

Regards,

FOI Team

Ards and North Down Borough Council

Town Hall

The Castle

Bangor

BT20 4BT

Tel: 0300 013 3333

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for which it was provided. If you have a data protection query, please put
your request in writing, stating clearly who you are and your query to:
Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall,
The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, email:
[email address], tel: 0300 013 3333 or visit the
Council’s website at www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/privacy-and-....

References

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