City Council Website

The request was partially successful.

Dear Birmingham City Council,

It has been reported online that the City Council is to purchase yet another new website at great expense to the hard pressed tax payer. This time a Leicester company Jadu Continuum has been chosen, and the new site is scheduled to 'go live' in August.

I would like to see:

All documentation of the purchasing process which has led to Jadu Continuum being chosen over a Birmingham based company.

Any documentation of the project planning showing how the website is planned to 'go live' in August.

An answer to a question of why a Birmingham based company has not been chosen.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Jones

FOI Mailbox, Birmingham City Council

We acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information request dated 15
March 2016 and we will be in touch with you again in due course.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know.  A fees notice will be issued to you and you will be
required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

If you require any further information or are not happy with our response
please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team on 0121 303 4876.

Yours sincerely

Corporate Information Governance Team

Data Protection Act 1998
The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial

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FOI Mailbox, Birmingham City Council

Dear Peter

We have been asked to ask for some clarification regarding the section of
your request which asks for "" Any documentation of the project planning
showing how the website is planned to 'go live' in August" the service
area feel this is very broad. Would it be possible to ask what your
specific interest is and whether you can narrow down the question at all?

If you would like to discuss this you can contact James Gregory at
[email address] or on 0121 303 0888, who would be happy
to discuss the request with you.

We will place the request on hold while awaiting your clarification.

Regards

Corporate Information Governance Team

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FOI Mailbox, Birmingham City Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Jones

 

Please see the attached in relation to your request.

 

Regards

 

Corporate Information Governance Team

 

Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 3:22 PM
To: Peter Jones
Cc: FOI Mailbox; James E Gregory
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - City Council Website

 

Dear Peter

We have been asked to ask for some clarification regarding the section of
your request which asks for "" Any documentation of the project planning
showing how the website is planned to 'go live' in August" the service
area feel this is very broad. Would it be possible to ask what your
specific interest is and whether you can narrow down the question at all?

If you would like to discuss this you can contact James Gregory at
[1][email address] or on 0121 303 0888, who would be
happy to discuss the request with you.

We will place the request on hold while awaiting your clarification.

Regards

Corporate Information Governance Team

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James E Gregory, Birmingham City Council

Many thanks Pat

 

Paula/Sheraz – for info. SB now have the action to ascertain from each
bidder whether they have any objections to any specific elements of their
bids being used for the FOI. If they do, Legal will need to assess each
point against the public interest test. Will revert once I have more info.
We now have until 13/5 to respond. The requestor has not responded to the
clarification question we sent a couple of weeks ago either which is
interesting.

 

James

 

From: Patricia Rowson On Behalf Of FOI Mailbox
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2016 9:10 AM
To: Peter Jones
Cc: FOI Mailbox
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - City Council Website

 

Dear Mr Jones

 

Please see the attached in relation to your request.

 

Regards

 

Corporate Information Governance Team

 

Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 3:22 PM
To: Peter Jones
Cc: FOI Mailbox; James E Gregory
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - City Council Website

 

Dear Peter

We have been asked to ask for some clarification regarding the section of
your request which asks for "" Any documentation of the project planning
showing how the website is planned to 'go live' in August" the service
area feel this is very broad. Would it be possible to ask what your
specific interest is and whether you can narrow down the question at all?

If you would like to discuss this you can contact James Gregory at
[1][email address] or on 0121 303 0888, who would be
happy to discuss the request with you.

We will place the request on hold while awaiting your clarification.

Regards

Corporate Information Governance Team

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FOI Mailbox, Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Jones

 

Further to your request for information pertaining to the purchase of a
new website, the Council has completed its consultation with a third party
in connection with your request listed below at point 1 and is now in a
position to respond as per  Section 1 of the FOIA which states that any
person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled
to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information within the scope of the request, and if so, to have that
information communicated to him.

 

1.            All documentation of the purchasing process which has led to
Jadu Continuum being chosen over a Birmingham based company.

    

We confirm the above information is not held by Birmingham City Council
(the Council) for the purposes of the FOIA even though it was initially
considered that the information sought was commercially sensitive and
subject of the public interest test. Having made further enquiries with
the third party, it has become clear that the purchasing process for the
Council’s new Web Content Management System (WCMS) was managed by Service
Birmingham in line with the Council’s ICT contract for services. For the
purposes of the FOIA, Service Birmingham is not a public authority as it
is incorporated as a limited company and contracted as the vehicle for
delivery of ICT and business transformation services to the Council.  

 

The Council initiated the services of its contractor to assist in
selecting a supplier to support the Council’s business requirement for a
replacement Content Management System hosted externally or by Service
Birmingham. Service Birmingham therefore ran the procurement process known
as RFP (Request for Proposal) inviting two of the market leaders as
identified by the Council as no Birmingham based companies were known as
having the capability to deliver the requirements for a WCMS. The RFP, by
way of an explanation, sets out the basis on which Service Birmingham is
prepared to do business with a supplier of services who is willing to
enter into a contract with Service Birmingham, and any proposal submitted
in response to the invitation by potential suppliers implies the
acceptance of the basis for the RFP and preparedness to enter into a
contract.  The ownership of and access control to all documentation
generated throughout the duration of the procurement process therefore
rests with Service Birmingham in its capacity as a limited company. The
Council was given access to view some of the documents but does not
physically hold any of the information as it is not needed for any of the
Council’s functions since information produced/received by Service
Birmingham relates solely to its contractual obligations in the ICT
contract for services.

 

2.            Any documentation of the project planning showing how the
website is planned to 'go live' in August.

    

The Council is unable to comply with this request since it sought
clarification from you on 14/04/2016.  Section 1(3) of the FOIA stipulates
that, where an authority has informed the requester that it requires
clarification, it will not be under any further obligation to comply until
the requester supplies the information it requires.

 

3.            An answer to a question of why a Birmingham based company
has not been chosen.

 

Please see response to first part of your request.

 

If you are not satisfied with the response you may ask for an internal
review, please contact the Corporate Team at the address below:

 

Corporate Information Governance Team

Economy Directorate

PO Box 16366

Birmingham B2 2YY

Telephone: 0121 303 4876

Email: [email address]

 

If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council’s decision you may
apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO
cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure
provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at
the following address:

 

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 01625 545745

Web Address: www.ico.org.uk

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Corporate Information Governance Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FOI Mailbox, Birmingham City Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Jones

 

Apologies, here is the correct letter response to your FOI request (FOI
14467).

 

Regards

 

 

Corporate Information Governance Team

 

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