Vanguard

The request was partially successful.

Dear Stoke on Trent City Council,

Under the Freedom of Information Act I request the following information:

1. Total Value of orders let to Vanguard Since 1st Jan 2010
2. Total of the invoices paid to Vanguard since 1st Jan 2010
3. Total spend anticipated over the next 3 years with Vanguard
4. Details of any tender process in relation to their appointment
Assuming no tender was carried out:
5. A copy of the councils exemption certificate relating to this work
6. A copy of any legal advise relating this contact regarding placing a contract over the EU threshold to a single supplier.
7. A copy of any emails relating to the subject sent between the head of procurement and the chief executive
8. Details of any speaking engagements the chief executive has had at the invitation of Vanguard or its directors over the last 5 years
8. Details of any renumeration he may have received from Vanguard or its directors in connection with speaking engagements or any other activities over the last 5 years.

Yours faithfully,

John James

Hannah Quinn, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear Mr James

Your request for information

Thank you for your request for information about Vanguard. Your request was received on 11th September 2010 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances we may charge for information. If there is a charge I will let you know as you will have to pay it before we deal with your request.

Some information does not have to be released under the Freedom of Information Act. We will check the information you have asked for and send you as much as possible. If another person or organisation is named in the information we may have to ask their opinion before we decide what we can give you.

Please note that we are currently experiencing a high volume of requests and therefore we would ask politely that you do not contact us regarding your request unless the statutory deadline has been exceeded or you wish to modify or withdraw your request. This will enable us to process and respond to your request as quickly as possible.

You should expect to receive a response to your request on or before 8th October 2010, in line with the Acts 20 working day statutory deadline.

If you have any queries about this email please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,
Hannah Quinn

Hannah Quinn | Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer
Information Governance | Chief Executive's
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1RN
t 01782 232853
e [email address] <mailto:[email address]>

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Dear Hannah Quinn,

Your reply was due on or before the 8th October. This has now passed.

Please advise why you have not been able to respond to a simple request in the timescales and when you will be responding.

Yours sincerely,

John James

Hannah Quinn, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear Mr James

Thank you for your email.

I apologise for the delay in providing a response to your request.

I can confirm that your response is being finalised and I will provide it to you as soon as I have received the final response from the department.

Yours sincerely,
Hannah Quinn

Hannah Quinn | Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer
Information Governance | Chief Executive's
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1RN
t 01782 232853
e [email address] <mailto:[email address]>

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Hannah Quinn, Stoke on Trent City Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr James

Your request for information on Vanguard

We have now considered your request for information and a copy of the
information is below.

1. Total Value of orders let to Vanguard Since 1st Jan 2010.

- Vanguard invoice the City Council monthly in arrears for the work
undertaken in each given month. This is a draw down against the contract
sum.

2. Total of the invoices paid to Vanguard since 1st Jan 2010.

- £109,421.

3. Total spend anticipated over the next 3 years with Vanguard.

- The anticipated spend under the contract with Vanguard for training,
scoping and Phase 1 is £139,834. Cabinet approval has been granted in
respect of further funding up to £280,000. The City Council has secured
funding from the West Midlands Regional Improvement and Efficiency
Partnership of over £500,000 to support both the Vanguard work and other
transformational change programmes.

4. Details of any tender process in relation to their appointment.

- No tender was carried out.

Assuming no tender was carried out:

5. A copy of the councils exemption certificate relating to this work

- Please find attached two exemption certificates with a total value of
£139,834.

6. A copy of any legal advise relating this contact regarding placing a
contract over the EU threshold to a single supplier.

- We are unable to confirm or deny whether we hold information that would
answer this part of your request, this is because the exemption cited at
Section 42 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Legal Professional
Privilege) applies to this question. Section 42(1) of the Act applies
where a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal
proceedings. It is considered that the public interest in withholding such
information is stronger than the public interest in disclosing it. This is
because it is clearly in the public interest for a local authority to have
access to full and frank legal advice.

7. A copy of any emails relating to the subject sent between the head of
procurement and the chief executive

- None.

8. Details of any speaking engagements the chief executive has had at the
invitation of Vanguard or its directors over the last 5years.

- The Chief Executive was a speaker at a conference arranged by Vanguard
in October 2009, which was prior to him taking up his post at the City
Council.

8. Details of any remuneration he may have received from Vanguard or its
directors in connection with speaking engagements or any other activities
over the last 5 years.

- The Chief Executive received no remuneration in connection with the
speaking engagement referred to above and has not undertaken any other
activities in the last 5 years at the invitation of Vanguard.

If you have any queries about this email, please do not hesitate to
contact me.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you should write to: Louise Kelly, Freedom of Information and Data
Protection Manager, Chief Executive’s Directorate, Civic Centre Floor 4,
Glebe Street, ST4 1HH or email [1][Stoke on Trent City Council request email].

If, after contacting us, you are not content with the outcome, you may ask
the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information
Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have already used our
appeal procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Hannah Quinn

Hannah Quinn | Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer

Information Governance | Chief Executive's

City of Stoke-on-Trent

Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1RN

t 01782 232853

e [email address] <mailto:[email address]>

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Ian Norris left an annotation ()

In respect of speaking event for vanguard in 2006, John van de Laarschot made a claim for travel expenses but no claim for food or accommodation and received 1 bottle of wine as a thank you gift. (not sure about 2009 event)

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/jo...

Dear Hannah Quinn,

Thank you for your previous answer.

Can you clarify the following points:

- What is the duration on Phase 1

- Your answer regarding reimbursement by Vanguard does not seem to tie up with the disclosure under a freedom of information request issued by his previous employer. Can you clarify the accuracy of this response.

- As any additional expenditure would exceed the EU threshold and as it is your clear intention to spend further monies, any further employment of Vanguard would be a clear case of disaggregation. Please provide any details of plans and timescales you have regarding tendering these additional works and how you intend to ensure local companies have an opportunity to tender for these works.

Yours sincerely,

John James

Hannah Quinn, Stoke on Trent City Council

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, I will be out of the office
until Tuesday 30th November 2010.

For Data Protection and Freedom of Information queries please conatct Neil
Chadwick at [email address].

If you wish to make a Freedom of Information request, please send your
request to [Stoke on Trent City Council request email].

All emails will be responded to on my return.

Thank you,

Hannah

Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John James,

Thank you for your correspondence requesting an Internal Review, which was
received on 25th November 2010 regarding your request for information
about Vanguard
I am now considering this Review and you should hear from me within 20
working days, starting the day after your correspondence was received.
The deadline I am working to is the 23rd December 2010.

If you have any queries about this email please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Yours sincerely
Louise Kelly

Louise Kelly | Freedom of Information & Data Protection Manager
Information Governance | Chief Executives
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH
t 01782 235965
e [1][email address]

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Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John,

To add to the message I sent you below, the second part of your email
regarding additional expenditure will be logged as a new foi request.
Yours sincerely

Louise Kelly

Dear John James,

Thank you for your correspondence requesting an Internal Review, which was
received on 25th November 2010 regarding your request for information
about Vanguard
I am now considering this Review and you should hear from me within 20
working days, starting the day after your correspondence was received.
The deadline I am working to is the 23rd December 2010.

If you have any queries about this email please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Yours sincerely
Louise Kelly

Louise Kelly | Freedom of Information & Data Protection Manager
Information Governance | Chief Executives
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH
t 01782 235965
e [1][email address]

show quoted sections

Lucie Blakeman, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John James,

Your request for information

Thank you for your request for information about Vanguard. Your request was received on 25/11/2010 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances we may charge for information. If there is a charge I will let you know as you will have to pay it before we deal with your request.

Some information does not have to be released under the Freedom of Information Act. We will check the information you have asked for and send you as much as possible. If another person or organisation is named in the information we may have to ask their opinion before we decide what we can give you.

You should expect to receive a response to your request on or before 23/12/2010, in line with the Acts 20 working day statutory deadline.

For your information we may publish the response to your request on our City Council's website, which can be found at the following address: www.stoke.gov.uk.

If you have any queries about this email please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully

Lucie Blakeman | Business Services Administrator
Central Services | Business Services | Supporting FOI
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre, Floor 4 ,Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1RJ
t 01782 232853
e [email address]

stoke.gov.uk

Help save the environment; do not print this message unless you have to.

show quoted sections

Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John,

Regarding your Internal Review response which is due on the 23rd December
2010, unfortunately I will not be able to respond to this by the deadline
as I had hoped. I will keep you updated on progress and respond to you as
soon as is possible.

Yours sincerely

Louise Kelly

Louise Kelly | Freedom of Information & Data Protection Manager
Information Governance | Chief Executives
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH
t 01782 235965
e [1][email address]

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Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John James,

I have now conducted an Internal Review regarding your request for
information about Vanguard.

I can confirm that we have supplied the relevant answers to all your
questions asked in your original request. For your assistance we have
also answered your further three questions as clarification of your
original response. Please find these answers below:

Question 1: What is the duration on Phase 1?
Answer: In the region of 20 weeks depending on the scope of the service
system under review.

Question 2: Your answer regarding reimbursement by Vanguard does not seem
to tie up with the disclosure under a freedom of information request
issued by his previous employer. Can you clarify the accuracy of this
response?
Answer: The City Council confirms the accuracy of its previous response
that the Chief Executive received no remuneration in connection with the
speaking engagement.

Question 3: As any additional expenditure would exceed the EU threshold
and as it is your clear intention to spend further monies, any further
employment of Vanguard would be a clear case of disaggregation. Please
provide any details of plans timescales you have regarding tendering these
additional works and how you intend to ensure local companies have an
opportunity to tender for these works?
Answer: It has not been necessary to tender for the additional works as
Vanguard is the only provider who can provide the Vanguard Method. Local
companies would be unable to provide the additional works as Vanguard own
the Intellectual Property Rights to this method and have confirmed that
they do not license these out to any other company.

If you have any queries about this email, please do not hesitate to
contact me.

If you are still not content with the outcome, you may ask the Information
Commissioner for a decision.

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Louise Kelly

Louise Kelly | Freedom of Information & Data Protection Manager
Information Governance | Chief Executives
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH
t 01782 235965
e [1][email address]

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Dear Louise Kelly,

Thank you for your reply.

However I have real concern regarding your third response.

Firstly under EU legislation you should not be specifying one particular companies product. The OGC guidance states:

"Specification stage - how requirements must be specified, avoiding brand names and other references which would have the effect of favouring or eliminating particular providers, products or services – and the requirement to accept equivalence. The Regulations now make it clear that authorities may use performance specifications rather than technical specifications."

Your assertion that it is not necessary to tender the works as Vanguard is the only provider of the Vanguard Method is clearly in contravention of that guidance and indeed EU regulation. I also believe that it is unlikely Vanguard could hold "intellectual Property Rights" on a model that they are openly running courses on training people external to their organisation.

Secondly, Vanguard are not the only provider of "System Thinking" methods of management in the UK. In fact there are many such consultants.

You appear to have specifically chosen to issue an exemption certificates for under the OJEU threshold. Please advise if any further certificates have been issued and any further orders have been placed.

Please advise the total spend to date with Vanguard and any update on proposed/planned spend.

Please provide copies of orders/contracts placed with Vanguard.

Please advise what other system thinking companies you have considered for this work.

Please provide copies of any correspondence including emails that may have been generated in creating your previous response.

Yours sincerely,

John James

Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Thank you for your email I am not in the office now until Wednesday 9th
March 2011. If your query is urgent please contact Neil Chadwick on 01782
233386 or email to [email address]

Thanks

Louise

Lucie Blakeman, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John,

Your request for information

Thank you for your request for information about Vanguard. Your request
was received on 06/03/2011 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances we may charge for information. If there is a charge
I will let you know as you will have to pay it before we deal with your
request.

Some information does not have to be released under the Freedom of
Information Act. We will check the information you have asked for and send
you as much as possible. If another person or organisation is named in the
information we may have to ask their opinion before we decide what we can
give you.

You should expect to receive a response to your request on or before
04/04/2011, in line with the Acts 20 working day statutory deadline.

For your information we may publish the response to your request on our
City Council's website, which can be found at the following address:
[1]www.stoke.gov.uk.

If you have any queries about this email please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Yours faithfully

Lucie Blakeman | Business Administration Administrator

Business Services | Business Administration | Supporting FOI

City of Stoke-on-Trent 

Civic Centre, Floor 4 ,Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1RJ

t 01782 232853

e [2][email address]

stoke.gov.uk                                          

Help save the environment; do not print this message unless you have to.

show quoted sections

Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John James,

Thank you for your email below.

I have forwarded your comments below to the department which dealt with
your request, for their information.

If you are still unsatisfied with the response to your Appeal, you may
contact the Information Commissioner to ask them for a decision, please
find the contact details below.

In relation to the information you have now requested at the bottom of
your email, I have forwarded this on for logging as a new request.

Yours sincerely

Louise Kelly

Louise Kelly | Freedom of Information & Data Protection Manager
Information Governance | Chief Executives
City of Stoke-on-Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH
t 01782 235965
e [1][email address]

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Dear Louise Kelly,

This request is now significantly delayed.

Please respond or indicate when you will respond.

Yours sincerely,

John James

Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Thank you for your email I am not in the office now until Wednesday 4th
May 2011. I will respond to your email on my return.

Thanks

Louise

Louise Kelly, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John James,

I apologise for the delay in you receiving this response and for any inconvenience this may have caused.

I have chased the response to this request today with the Department that holds the information. I can assure you that your request is being dealt with and as soon the response is ready, we will let you have it.

Yours sincerely

Louise Kelly

Louise Kelly | Freedom of Information & Data Protection Manager
Information Rights | Support | Business Services 
City of Stoke-on-Trent 
Civic Centre,  Glebe Street   Stoke-on-Trent   ST4 1RG
t 01782 235965
e [email address]

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Hannah Holdcroft, Stoke on Trent City Council

3 Attachments

Dear Mr James

Your request for information on exemption certificates

We have now considered your request for information and a copy of the
information is below.

1) Please advise if any further certificates have been issued and any
further orders have been placed.

A further exemption certificate was issued to cover the engagement of
Vanguard Consulting up to the original indicative allocation of funding of
£280,500 that was agreed by Cabinet. With regards to orders, Vanguard
invoice the City Council monthly in arrears for the work undertaken in
each given month.

2) Please advise the total spend to date with Vanguard and any update on
proposed/planned spend.

The following table shows the total accrued costs for Vanguard for the
various interventions, the total amount of incidental expenses as at 7th
March 2011, and the indicative savings identified to date. It is too early
to give an accurate estimate of the total amount of savings that will be
generated from the various interventions.

It should be noted that the sum of £71,820 detailed in the top line of
the table was payment made by Kier Stoke and not the City Council.

Intervention No. of Days Fees Paid Expenses Forecast Annual
Savings

(£)
(£)

(£)
Kier-Stoke Housing Repairs 79.75 71,820 4,355 (35,100)
Revenues & Benefits 60 65,520 2,970 (250,000)
"Place" 48.5 58,590 2,787 (235,605)
Housing 77 79,380 4,020 (73,286)
Stoke-on-Call 7 8,820 134 TBC
ASC 40 47,880 2,010 TBC
Procurement 14.5 11,970 536 TBC
Finance 24.5 21,420 1,072 TBC

Total 351.25 365,400 17,884 (593,991)

The above information has been shared with the Cabinet, who have given
their endorsement to the program and will be considering additional
expenditure. Cabinet have requested that the costs and benefits of the
interventions are reported to a future Cabinet meeting to formally approve
the additional investment.

As was originally envisaged upon commencement of the programme, a number
of council staff have now been trained in the Vanguard methodology, and
the overall requirement to utilise Vanguard’s support has diminished.

3) Please provide copies of orders/contracts placed with Vanguard

The City Council has a formal legal contract in place with Vanguard which
covers phase 1 of the intervention. A copy of this is attached.
Unfortunately, the specification referred to in the contract is exempt
under Section 43 of the Act and will not be disclosed. Section 43 of the
Act allows us to withhold information if its disclosure would be likely to
prejudice the commercial interests of any person. This exemption applies
due to the nature of the work being unique and developed solely by
Vanguard, i.e. the Vanguard Method.

It is considered that the public interest in withholding the information
is stronger than the public interest in disclosing it. This is because
companies may be deterred from engaging in contract with the Council in
the future if they feel that their commercial interests may be hindered.

A further contract is being prepared for the additional work carried out
by Vanguard.

4) Please advise what other systems thinking companies you have considered
for this work.

There are a number of companies that offer systems thinking services but
given the Council's need to commence with the interventions as quickly as
possible, and given their reputation, proven capacity to deliver and their
market lead in the application of lean thinking the Cabinet approved the
appointment of Vanguard.

5) Please provided copies of any correspondence including e-mails that may
have been generated in creating your previous response.

Please find enclosed, e-mail correspondence with Vanguard in which they
confirm that they are the only company able to provide the Vanguard
Method. Correspondence with the Chief Executive's office relating to the
remuneration query is also enclosed.

If you have any queries about this email, please do not hesitate to
contact me.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you should write to: Louise Kelly, Freedom of Information and Data
Protection Manager, Support: Business Services, Stoke Town Hall, Glebe
Street, ST4 1HH or email [1][Stoke on Trent City Council request email].

If, after contacting us, you are not content with the outcome, you may ask
the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information
Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have already used our
appeal procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Hannah Holdcroft

Hannah Holdcroft | Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer

Information Rights | Support: Business Services

City of Stoke-on-Trent

GF23 Stoke Town Hall Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH

t 01782 232853

e [email address] <mailto:[email address]>

show quoted sections

Dear Hannah Holdcroft,

1 Please provide a copy of any exemption certificates issued in relation to Vanguard’s services since the E644 exemption certificates and any agreements issued since the agreement included in your 18th May 2011 response.

2 Exemption Certificate E644 states “there is a shortage of supply” of this type of consultancy, yet your FOI response to me dated 18 Mat 2011 states “There are a number of companies that offer systems thinking services”

2a Please explain this contridiction

2 b Please provide details of what was done to assess the market when the original Exemption Certificate was produced and what has been done before subsequent orders were placed.

3. Your response dated 18th May 2011 stated the costs to date and included a cost of expenses paid the total of which is in the order of £18,000. Clause 6.3 of their contract states provides for expenses only for accommodation. Please provide details of the accommodation expenses to date including copies of the monthly report on accommodtaion refered to in clause 6.4

4. Your response dated 18th May 2011 provided a copy of the contract with Vanguard but not the schedules. Please provide the schedules.

5. Your response dated 18th May 2011 provided a copy of the contract with Vanguard. In Clause 5.2 it states that this agreement is for “two of the three interventions” only. Your response refers to 8 interventions. Please provide a copy of the contract for all the interventions

6. With reference to the attachment to your reaponse dated 18th May 2011, I note that someone who I am lead to believe from the councils website is a Procurement Officer asked Vanguard if they had exclusive rights to the “Vanguard Method”. As a Procurement Officer he will be aware that within Public Procurement you cannot specify a specific product but must use the terms “ or equivalent”. Please provide details the council has regarding this issue.

7. Your exemption certificates suggest that time was a factor in considering Vangaurd exclusively. These were issued approximately 1 year ago. Can you please advise and give details of any tender that has been or is being considered for current and future contracts.

8. Your response dated 18th May 2011 item 1 states:

“A further exemption certificate was issued to cover the engagement of
Vanguard Consulting up to the original indicative allocation of funding of
£280,500 that was agreed by Cabinet. With regards to orders, Vanguard
invoice the City Council monthly in arrears for the work undertaken in
each given month.”

If the original funding agreed was for £280,500 then there appears to be a clear case of disagregation. Please provide any details that the council has regarding this issue

Yours sincerely,

John James

Lucie Blakeman, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear John,

Your request for information

Thank you for your request for information about exemption certificates.
Your request was received on 25/07/2011 and I am dealing with it under the
terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances we may charge for information. If there is a charge
I will let you know as you will have to pay it before we deal with your
request.

Some information does not have to be released under the Freedom of
Information Act. We will check the information you have asked for and send
you as much as possible. If another person or organisation is named in the
information we may have to ask their opinion before we decide what we can
give you.

You should expect to receive a response to your request on or before
22/08/2011, in line with the Acts 20 working day statutory deadline.

For your information we may publish the response to your request on our
City Council's website, which can be found at the following address:
[1]www.stoke.gov.uk.

If you have any queries about this email please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Yours sincerely

Lucie Blakeman | Business Administration Administrator

Business Services | Business Administration | Supporting FOI

City of Stoke-on-Trent 

Civic Centre, Floor 4 ,Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1RJ

t 01782 232853

e: [email address]

stoke.gov.uk                                          

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show quoted sections

Dear Stoke on Trent City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Stoke on Trent City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Vanguard'.

I have been waiting since the 25th July for a response. This is an unacceptable period of time.

Please ensure your response gives a clear explaination of why it has been delayed and not a generic response.

I can only draw the conclusion that there is a coverup going on, and therefore will seek to publish this fact if I do not get a response in the next 7 calander days.

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

Yours faithfully,

John James

FOI, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear Mr James,

Thank you for your correspondence below. We apologise for this long delay and the breach of the statutory timeframe. I can confirm that your request for information had been closed on the 18/10/2011, as we did not receive a full response from the department holding the information. I can confirm that Information Rights did chase your response with the department, but did not receive the information it was waiting for.

As you have not been provided with a response to your request, unfortunately you cannot make an Internal Review at this stage. However you do have two options that you could consider.

1. You may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office regarding this breach of the statutory timeframe by the Council, the Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. It is likely they will request that the Council provides the information to you within a specified timeframe.

2. I can re-open the case and begin chasing the information again for this response, but I cannot guarantee when you will receive a response.

Please let me know which option you prefer.

Yours sincerely,
Information Rights

Information Rights | Support: Business Services
City of Stoke-on-Trent
GF23 Stoke Town Hall Glebe Street Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH
t 01782 235965
e [Stoke on Trent City Council request email]

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FOI, Stoke on Trent City Council

3 Attachments

 
Dear Mr James
 
Your request for information on Vanguard
 
The information provided below is in response to your Freedom of
Information request that was submitted on 25/07/11. The City Council
accepts that there has been an unprecedented delay in dealing with your
request and is currently working to ensure this does not occur again.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. We
endeavour to respond within the statutory timeframe to all information
requests we receive and please be assured that the delay in responding to
your request is not a representation of our usual response timeframes.
 
The information that has been provided meets the original requirements of
your request, up until the date of 25/07/11, when your request was
submitted. If you require further information since this date then please
submit a new Freedom of Information request advising what information you
are interested in obtaining and we will consider this in line with the
legislation.
 
Although we do hold all the information that you have asked for,
unfortunately the information you have requested for question 4 is exempt
under section 43(2) of the Act and will not be provided. This is explained
in more detail in our response to question 4 below. A copy of the
information which can be provided is attached and below.
 
1. Please provide a copy of any exemption certificates issued in relation
to Vanguard’s services since the E644 exemption certificates and any
agreements issued since the agreement included in your 18th May 2011
response.
 
A further exemption certificate has been issued, Exemption E-739. There
has been one further agreement which was signed on 18/07/2011, copies of
these are attached above. Please see the first and second attachments.
 
2. Exemption Certificate E644 states “there is a shortage of supply” of
this type of consultancy, yet your FOI response to me dated 18 March 2011
states “There are a number of companies that offer systems thinking
services”
 
2a. Please explain this contradiction
 
Whilst there are a number of companies in the marketplace offering systems
thinking services, Vanguard Consulting Limited are the only company able
to provide the ‘Vanguard Method’. 
 
2b. Please provide details of what was done to assess the market when the
original Exemption Certificate was produced and what has been done before
subsequent orders were placed.
 
‘Vanguard Method’ is a style of systems thinking. There are a number of
companies which offer systems thinking, but not the ‘Vanguard Method’.
Please also refer to answer 2a.
 
3. Your response dated 18th May 2011 stated the costs to date and included
a cost of expenses paid the total of which is in the order of £18,000.
Clause 6.3 of their contract states provides for expenses only for
accommodation. Please provide details of the accommodation expenses to
date including copies of the monthly report on accommodation referred to
in clause 6.4
 
Please see attached above accommodation expenses, third attachment.
 
4. Your response dated 18th May 2011 provided a copy of the contract with
Vanguard but not the schedules. Please provide the schedules.
 
This information is exempt under section 43 of the Freedom of Information
Act and will not be disclosed. Section 43(2) allows us to withhold the
information if its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial
interests of any person. This exemption applies because the
schedules/specifications that you have requested relate to the “Vanguard
Method”, the nature of this work is unique and developed solely by
Vanguard. Release of this information would jeopardise their commercial
interests in relation to future business activities.
 
It is considered that the public interest in withholding the information
is stronger than the public interest in disclosing it. This is because
disclosure of this information would result in Vanguard losing their
commercial advantage and would mean that companies including Vanguard
would be less inclined to enter into contracts with the city council if
they feel that their commercial interests may be hindered. This would be
counterproductive to the council’s primary objective of obtaining good
value for money.
 
5. Your response dated 18th May 2011 provided a copy of the contract with
Vanguard. In Clause 5.2 it states that this agreement is for “two of the
three interventions” only. Your response refers to 8 interventions. Please
provide a copy of the contract for all the interventions
 
The initial contract was for two of the three interventions of Phase 1,
one intervention of these three was "contracted separately with the
appropriate company" (Kier, as also mentioned in the response below). A
further contract (as attached above) was for Additional Services under
Phase 1 and was not for any further interventions.  Further interventions
are being facilitated by our in-house team using the “Vanguard Method” for
skills transfer and longer term sustainability.
 
6. With reference to the attachment to your response dated 18th May 2011,
I note that someone who I am lead to believe from the councils website is
a Procurement Officer asked Vanguard if they had exclusive rights to the
“Vanguard Method”. As a Procurement Officer he will be aware that within
Public Procurement you cannot specify a specific product but must use the
terms “ or equivalent”. Please provide details the council has regarding
this issue.
 
The regulation referred to is applicable where a competitive tendering
procedure is possible. This is not the case with Vanguard since they are
the only possible provider because of reasons related to exclusive rights
i.e. Vanguard own the intellectual property rights to the “Vanguard
Method” and they do not license this method out to any other person or
company.
 
7. Your exemption certificates suggest that time was a factor in
considering Vanguard exclusively. These were issued approximately 1 year
ago. Can you please advise and give details of any tender that has been or
is being considered for current and future contracts.
 
No tender has been considered.
 
8. Your response dated 18th May 2011 item 1 states:
 
“A further exemption certificate was issued to cover the engagement of
Vanguard Consulting up to the original indicative allocation of funding of
£280,500 that was agreed by Cabinet. With regards to orders, Vanguard
invoice the City Council monthly in arrears for the work undertaken in
each given month.”
 
If the original funding agreed was for £280,500 then there appears to be a
clear case of disaggregation. Please provide any details that the council
has regarding this issue.
 
The total value of exemption certificates (E-622, E-644 and E-739) equals
the total amount agreed by Cabinet of £280,500.  For further information
on “Vanguard Method” please refer to [1]www.systemsthinking.co.uk.
 
If you have any queries about this email, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you should write to: Information Rights Manager, Customer Feedback and
Information Rights Team, People – Adult and Neighbourhood Services, Stoke
Town Hall, Glebe Street, ST4 1HH or email [2][Stoke on Trent City Council request email].
 
If, after contacting us, you are not content with the outcome, you may ask
the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information
Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have already used our
internal review procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted
at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, tel: 0303 123 1113 or you can visit their
website at [3]www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Information Rights
 
Information Rights | Customer Access
Customer Feedback & Information Rights Team, People – Adult &
Neighbourhood Services
City of Stoke on Trent
Civic Centre Glebe Street Stoke on Trent ST4 1HH
T: 01782 232853
e: [4][Stoke on Trent City Council request email]
 

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