Request
I am writing to request the following information for the “Project – Co Managed Network, Notice Reference – TNA554”
1.Copy of successful tender (by removing confidential information)
2. Scoring table of all bidders, split by scores awarded for each question of bid.
3. Approximate date that the tender will be reissued towards the end of the current contract period.
4. How many bidders submitted responses?
5.Name of all bidders who submitted responses.
6. Rank of all bidders who submitted responses.
Outcome
Some information provided.
Response
1.Copy of successful tender (by removing confidential information)
The information you have requested is exempt under Section 43 (2) of the FOI Act as the Information on any live contract would expose commercially sensitive information and would, or would be likely to, prejudice or harm the commercial interests of any person.
Details of contracts we have awarded are published on Contracts Finder and as such Information regarding our contracts valued over £10,000 plus VAT is exempt under Section 21 of the FOI Act as it is already in the public domain. To assist you in locating this information, please review the links below:
Tenders and contracts – The National Archives
Co Managed Network – Contracts Finder
2. Scoring table of all bidders, split by scores awarded for each question of bid.
This information is exempt under Section 43 (2) of the FOI Act. See question 1 above.
3. Approximate date that the tender will be reissued towards the end of the current contract period.
The National Archives does not hold this information.
4. How many bidders submitted responses?
The National Archives received 4 submissions.
5.Name of all bidders who submitted responses.
This information is exempt under Section 43 (2) of the FOI Act. See question 1 above.
6. Rank of all bidders who submitted responses.
This information is exempt under Section 43 (2) of the FOI Act. See question 1 above.
Explanatory annexe
Exemptions applied
Section 21: Information readily available to the applicant by other means
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) does not oblige a public authority to provide information if it is already reasonably accessible by other means. In this case the exemption applies because the information is already available.
Further guidance can be found at: Section 21 – Information already reasonably accessible | ICO
Section 43 (2) – Commercial Interests
This section exempts information whose disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person. In this case, the exemption applies because it would be likely to harm or prejudice the commercial interests of our current and potential future suppliers.
Section 43 (2) is a qualified exemption and we are required to conduct a public interest test when applying any qualified exemption. This means that after it has been decided that the exemption is engaged, the public interest in releasing the information must be considered. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it then the exemption does not apply and must be release. In the FOIA there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.
Considerations in favour of the release of the information included The National Archives’ commitment to openness and transparency in its commercial activities, to allow public scrutiny and to demonstrate that public funds are being used in an efficient and effective way. Furthermore, private sector companies engaging in commercial activities with the public sector must expect some information about those activities to be disclosed.
Considerations against disclosure included the recognition that disclosure is likely to provide information to direct competitors within the market that would create an imbalance and a commercial advantage to those competitors. Furthermore, disclosure of this information is also likely to affect The National Archives’ ability to negotiate contracts in the future and consequently generate revenue from non-public funds. It is also considered that disclosure would be likely to deter potential bidders for future contracts from competing and sharing commercially sensitive information with us. This would outweigh any benefits of release. It was therefore decided that the balance of the public interest lies clearly in favour of withholding the material on this occasion.
Further guidance can be found at: Section 43 – Commercial interests | ICO