Committee meeting technology contract information (FOI221113)

This Freedom of Information request asks for details of committee meeting technology contract information

Request for information - Ref no: FOI221113

February 22, 2023

Information request

Thank you for your email of 2 November 2022, requesting information from Ordnance Survey in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, as set out in the extract below:

I wanted to make Freedom of Information request.

I am currently researching the digitalisation of the UK’s public sector – with a focus on committee meeting technology. I wanted to ask a few questions regarding this:

  1. How do you manage your meetings (organise agenda, minutes etc)? Do you use a committee meeting management software such as a board portal (CMIS, Modern.Gov, iBabs etc) or just emails etc?
  2. If yes, what is the name of the supplier?
  3. If yes, what is the contract expiry and contract review date?
  4. How many users are on the board portal/management solution, and how much do you spend on this?
  5. What is your cost per user?
  6. Could I also kindly ask for contact details for the best lead regarding this?

Our response

I confirm that Ordnance Survey does hold the information you have requested, where the information requested is exempt this is stated.

Taking each request in turn, I confirm the following:

1. How do you manage your meetings (organise agenda, minutes etc)? Do you use a committee meeting management software such as a board portal (CMIS, Modern.Gov, iBabs etc) or just emails etc?

I confirm we do use committee meeting management software.

2. If yes, what is the name of the supplier?

Diligent Board Books Limited.

3. If yes, what is the contract expiry and contract review date?

The contract expiry date is 9 December 2023.

The contract review date is September 2023.

4. How many users are on the board portal/management solution, and how much do you spend on this?

2 Admins and 11 users.

I confirm we hold the total contract value requested at question 4 and the cost per user requested at question 5 however, we consider this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) (Prejudice to commercial interest) of the FOI Act.

After consultation with Diligent, we consider disclosure of the above information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of Diligent and OS. This is because this information would prove advantageous for competitors when bidding on future opportunities, it would impair the third party’s ability to compete successfully and could harm both parties’ ability to negotiate in future procurement exercises. Companies may lose confidence in OS, compromising OS’ integrity and causing a detrimental impact on the reputation of OS.

Section 43 (2) is a qualified exemption, and we are required to consider the public interest.

Public Interest Test

OS recognises the need for transparency; however, this must be balanced against the public interest in allowing OS and third parties to protect their commercial information, and not be placed at a disadvantage in the competitive marketplace in which we operate. Section 43(2) is a prejudice-based exemption, and there is a public interest inherent in avoiding the harm specified. In this case, OS considers that the prejudice would be likely to occur. Having considered the above, we are satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

5. What is your cost per user?

Exempt – see response to question 4 above.

6. Could I also kindly ask for contact details for the best lead regarding this?

We consider the contact details for the person responsible for the contract to be exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) (personal information) of the FOI Act, as the information constitutes personal data.

Section 40(2) provides that personal data is exempt information if one of the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. In our view, disclosure of this information would breach the data protection principles contained in the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018

In reaching this decision, we have particularly considered:

  • the reasonable expectations of the employees: given their positions, Ordnance Survey considered that none of the individuals would have a reasonable expectation that their personal data would be disclosed;
  • the consequences of disclosure; and
  • any legitimate public interest in disclosure.

Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption and therefore not subject to the public interest test.

However, under the duty to provide information and assistance in accordance with section 16 of FOIA, we can provide the following information which may assist you in this matter.

You can find out information in relation to our procurement process on our website in our procurement pages, where there is also a ‘contact us’ form. Alternatively, you can contact us by telephone via our Customer Service centre on 03456 05 05 05

All information requests

See our previous responses to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

Can't find what you need?

Contact us directly to speak to our friendly customer service team.