Request
1. Do you use a tool for live chat/ web chat?
2. If so, which supplier do you use for this tool?
3. How much do you spend annually on a live chat/ web chat tool?
4. Which month & year does your contract with your supplier end?
5. Who is the budget holder for this contract?
Outcome
Some information provided.
Response
1. Do you use a tool for live chat/ web chat?
Yes.
2. If so, which supplier do you use for this tool?
Disclosing software systems, product names, vendors and versions may reveal information that would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime and is exempt under section 31 (1) (a) of the FOI Act.
3. How much do you spend annually on a live chat/ web chat tool?
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 some of this information, please review the links below:
LiveChat Online Chat Service – Contracts Finder
Tenders and contracts – The National Archives
Contracts Finder – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
4. Which month & year does your contract with your supplier end?
This information is covered by the exemption at section 21 of the FOIA. Please see the information provided at question 3.
5. Who is the budget holder for this contract?
We are unable to provide you with this information because it would identify a junior member of staff and as such is exempt from release under section 40(2) of the FOI Act. However, at The National Archives we apply the general principle that members of staff at Head of Department level and above are sufficiently senior for their names and/or job titles to already be in the public domain and are therefore not exempt from release. The Head of Collections Expertise and Engagement at The National Archives is Jess Nelson.
The National Archives’ organisational structure can be found on our website here: The National Archives organisational structure
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. Details of the contracts can be found at the following links: Contracts Finder – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Further guidance can be found at: Section 21 – Information already reasonably accessible | ICO
Section 31: Law Enforcement
We are unable to provide you with information regarding software, suppliers and vendors because this information is exempt from disclosure under section 31(1) (a) of the FOI Act. Section 31(1) (a) exempts information if its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime.
Section 31 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 the information must be released. In the FOI Act there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.
The public interest has now been concluded and the balance of the public interest has been found to fall in favour of withholding information covered by the section 31(1)(a) exemption. Considerations in favour of the release of the information included the principle that there is a public interest in transparency and accountability in disclosing information about government cyber security. However, release of this information would make The National Archives more vulnerable to crime. The crime in question here would be a malicious attack on The National Archives’ computer systems. As such release of this information would be seen to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime by making The National Archives’ computer system more vulnerable to hacking. There is an overwhelming public interest in keeping government computer systems secure which would be served by non-disclosure. This would outweigh any benefits of release. It has therefore been decided that the balance of the public interest lies clearly in favour of withholding the material on this occasion.
Further guidance on section 31 can be found here: Section 31 – Law enforcement | ICO
Section 40(2): Personal Information where the applicant is not the data subject
Data Protection Legislation prevents personal information from release if it is unfair or at odds with the reason it was collected, or where the subject had officially served notice that releasing it would cause them damage or distress.
In this case the exemption applies because this information represents the personal information of a junior member of staff at The National Archives.
Publishing the names and contact details of junior members of staff is considered an unfair use of personal data. Junior members of staff would have no expectation that information about their positions would be made available in the public domain; to do so would be unfair and contravene Art. 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation. As such, the names, positions and contact details of junior officials are withheld under section 40 (2) of the FOI Act.
Further guidance can be found at: Section 40 – Requests for personal data about public authority employees | ICO