WAN Project

The request was partially successful.

Dear Hertfordshire County Council,

Could you kindly respond to the following requests for information and documentation regarding Hertfordshire County Council's Wide Area Network (WAN) awarded in September 2010.

i) What was the procurement route used ?(For example did you buy through 'Buying Solutions')

ii) What is the total overall value of the Contract?

iii) Please send me a copy of the winning tender including all appendices and details of any clarifications between the Council and the winning bidder.

iv) Please send me a copy of the Council evaluation report on the procurement process.

v) Please send me a copy of the Council award letter to the winning bidder.

vi)Please send me a copy of the original issued tender along with any covering letter and background information to bidders.

vii) Please send me details of any tender clarification questions that arose from any bidder during the tendering period and the responses to those questions.

I look forward to receiving a response.

Many thanks,

Yours faithfully,

Keith Wilson

Herts Direct,

Dear Enquirer,

Your message has been received and will be dealt with as soon as possible.
Our standard is to reply within ten working days.
Should you need to make contact with us again on this matter, it helps us
if you quote reference number: 40450

Kind Regards
Dan at HertsDirect
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Alan Ross To FOI requests at
<[FOI #50953 email]> Hertfordshire County Council
<[Hertfordshire County Council request email]>
02/11/2010 19:04 cc
Subject Freedom of Information
request - WAN Project

Dear Hertfordshire County Council,

Could you kindly respond to the following requests for information
and documentation regarding Hertfordshire County Council's Wide
Area Network (WAN) awarded in September 2010.

i) What was the procurement route used ?(For example did you buy
through 'Buying Solutions')

ii) What is the total overall value of the Contract?

iii) Please send me a copy of the winning tender including all
appendices and details of any clarifications between the Council
and the winning bidder.

iv) Please send me a copy of the Council evaluation report on the
procurement process.

v) Please send me a copy of the Council award letter to the winning
bidder.

vi)Please send me a copy of the original issued tender along with
any covering letter and background information to bidders.

vii) Please send me details of any tender clarification questions
that arose from any bidder during the tendering period and the
responses to those questions.

I look forward to receiving a response.

Many thanks,

Yours faithfully,

Keith Wilson

show quoted sections

Information Governance,

Reference number: FOI/RAP/11/10/2543

Dear Keith Wilson,

Thank you for your correspondence of 2nd November 2010 requesting the
following information:

' Could you kindly respond to the following requests for information

and documentation regarding Hertfordshire County Council's Wide

Area Network (WAN) awarded in September 2010.

i) What was the procurement route used ?(For example did you buy

through 'Buying Solutions')

ii) What is the total overall value of the Contract?

iii) Please send me a copy of the winning tender including all

appendices and details of any clarifications between the Council

and the winning bidder.

iv) Please send me a copy of the Council evaluation report on the

procurement process.

v) Please send me a copy of the Council award letter to the winning

bidder.

vi)Please send me a copy of the original issued tender along with

any covering letter and background information to bidders.

vii) Please send me details of any tender clarification questions

that arose from any bidder during the tendering period and the

responses to those questions.'

Your request for information is being considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. We will respond to your request as quickly as
possible, and by 1st December 2010 at the latest.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting
the reference number on this email.

Yours sincerely,

show quoted sections

Information Governance,

6 Attachments

Dear Mr Wilson,

Reference number: FOI/RAP/11/10/2543

On 3^rd November 2010 we received the following request for information
from you:

"Could you kindly respond to the following requests for information
and documentation regarding Hertfordshire County Council's Wide
Area Network (WAN) awarded in September 2010.

i) What was the procurement route used ?(For example did you buy
through 'Buying Solutions')

ii) What is the total overall value of the Contract?

iii) Please send me a copy of the winning tender including all
appendices and details of any clarifications between the Council
and the winning bidder.

iv) Please send me a copy of the Council evaluation report on the
procurement process.

v) Please send me a copy of the Council award letter to the winning
bidder.

vi)Please send me a copy of the original issued tender along with
any covering letter and background information to bidders.

vii) Please send me details of any tender clarification questions
that arose from any bidder during the tendering period and the
responses to those questions."

Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council does
hold the information you have requested and can respond as follows:

i) This was carried out as a tender under the Official Journal of the
European Union (OJEU) restricted procedure.

ii) The estimated total value of this contract is £17,725,066.

iii), iv), v) and vii)

After careful consideration Hertfordshire County Council believes that
this information should be withheld under the exemption contained within
section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which relates to
commercial interests. At the present time this contract has not been
finalised. As this exemption is a qualified exemption, in reaching its
decision, the County Council has balanced the public interest test in
withholding the information against the public interest in disclosure.

The factors we have considered which are in favour of disclosure are:

· There is a public interest in allowing scrutiny of how public
money is spent and ensuring value for money when purchasing goods and
services;

· Disclosure would facilitate the accountability and transparency
of public authorities for decisions taken by them, including the
procurement process;

· Disclosure may allow individuals and companies to understand
decisions made by public authorities affecting their business and, in some
cases, assist individuals or companies in challenging those decisions.

The factors we have considered which are against disclosure are:

· The contract in question is yet to be finalised;

· The disclosure of the requested information would potentially
cause detriment to the commercial interests of the contractor which
submitted the winning tender;

· There is a public interest in maintaining good relations
between the private and public sector;

· There is a public interest in ensuring companies are able to
compete fairly;

· There is a public interest in ensuring that there is
competition for public sector contracts, and not discouraging the private
sector from doing business with the public sector;

· There is a public interest in ensuring that any future
bargaining position during contractual negotiations which the County may
have is maintained, resulting in effective use of public money;

· Disclosure may make it more difficult for
individuals/commercial bodies to be able to conduct commercial
transactions or have other dealings with public bodies.

On balance, we consider that the public interest does not favour
disclosing the requested information. The contract in question has not
yet been finalised and, as such, disclosure would, or would be likely to,
prejudice the commercial interests of both the County Council and the
contractor. It would also negate the whole purpose of the tendering
process and inhibit the future working relationship between public and
private sector. Additionally, disclosure could affect the Council's
ability to obtain the best rates for such contracts in the future and
could also affect the contractor's ability to successfully tender for any
renewable contract with not only this Council but also other organisations
for which they may be in the process of tendering.

For clarity, the County Council believes that the above exemption and
public interest test apply to sections iii), iv), v) and vii) of your
request.

vi) Please see the attached documents.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, quoting
the reference number on this email. To find out more about Freedom of
Information, please visit www.hertsdirect.org/foi

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your
request for information, you may complain through the County Council's
complaints procedure which is available at
[1]www.hertsdirect.org/complaints

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaints procedure you are
entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to investigate your
complaint. You should write to: FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Unit

Hertfordshire County Council

Telephone: 01992 555848

Fax: 01992 588117

Email: [2][email address]

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Dear Information Governance,

You were kind enough to supply me with information in November about the Hertfordshire WAN Tender. On reviewing this I have noticed that the blank cost schedule has not been sent along with the originally requested information. It is referred to in your documents as 'RETURN SCHEDULE 3 – COST SCHEDULE'.

I would be very grateful to you if you would send this to me under the umbrella of my original FOI request.

Yours sincerely,

Keith Wilson

Information Governance,

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Wilson,
Apologies for the previous omission, please find the requested document attached.

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Unit
Hertfordshire County Council
Telephone: 01992 555848
Fax: 01992 588117
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Information Governance,

Many thanks for the prompt reply.

Yours sincerely,

Keith Wilson