ICT Contract Information (FOI241286)

We received your request on 21 November 2024.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

A copy of your request is set out in the extract below:

“I wish to submit to the organisation a freedom of information request relating to the organisation’s ICT contracts, specifically around:

1. contact centre contract(s)

2. inbound network services contract (s)

The first part of my request relates to contact centre service contracts which could relate to one of the following:

1. Advanced call distribution to control the flow of calls and maximise customer experience
2. Email, website live chat and integrations with popular social media apps like Facebook and Instagram
3. Performance monitoring tools to track performance, customer satisfaction and other key sales metrics

This could be part of a whole package or separate service applications.

Please send me the following information for each provider:

1. Incumbent Supplier: For each of the contract(s) please can you provide me with the supplier of the contract.
2. Annual Average Spend: For each supplier, please state the annual average (over 3 years) spend for each supplier
3. Contract Duration: For each supplier, please state the contract duration of the contract expires. If available please also include any contract extensions.
4. Contract Expiry: For each supplier, please state the date of when the contract expires.
5. Contract Review: For each supplier, please state the date of when the contract will be reviewed.
6. Contract Description: For each supplier, please state a brief description of the services provided of the overall contract.
7. Contact Details: For each supplier, please state the person from within the organisation responsible for the contract. Please provide me with their full name, actual job title, contact number and direct email address. At the very least please provide me with their actual job title.
8. Number of Agents; please provide me with the total number of contact centre agents;
9. Number of Sites; please can you provide me with the number of sites the contact centre covers.
10. Manufacturer of the contact centre: Who is the manufacturer of the contact centre system that you operate?
11. Do you use Microsoft Exchange 2003 as your email server? If not, then which products do you use?
12. Number of email users: Approximate number of email users across the organisations.

The second part of my request relates to the use inbound network services contracts which could relate to one of the following:

1. 0800, 0845, 0870, 0844, 0300 number
2. Routing of calls
3. Caller Identifier
4. Caller Profile- linking caller details with caller records
5. Interactive voice response (IVR)

For a contract relating to the above please can you provide me with?

1. Incumbent Supplier: For each of the contract(s) please can you provide me with the supplier of the contract.
2. Annual Average Spend: For each supplier, please state the annual average (over 3 years) spend for each supplier
3. Contract Expiry: For each supplier, please state the date of when the contract expires.
4. Contract Review: For each supplier, please state the date of when the contract will be reviewed.
5. Contract Description: For each supplier, please state a brief description of the services provided of the overall contract.
6. Contact Details: For each supplier, please state the person from within the organisation responsible for the contract. Please provide me with their full name, actual job title, contact number and direct email address.

Please can you acknowledge my request so that I know that the request is being dealt with. If you have any questions or queries in relation to this request, please send me an email and I will respond accordingly.

Also, I would appreciate it if the contract information was included within a spreadsheet.”

I confirm that Ordnance Survey does hold the information you have requested.

A copy of the information which can be disclosed is provided in the format you have requested, a spreadsheet (.xslx)

Where the information is exempt from disclosure, this is stated in the spreadsheet, and the exemptions are explained in further detail below:

Exempt information under section 43(2) (Prejudice to commercial interests)

I confirm that OS does hold the contract information requested at part 2 of your request for inbound network services contracts, however, following consultation with the supplier, we consider the annual average spend, contract expiry date, contract review date and contract description to be exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) (Prejudice to commercial interests) of the FOIA 2000, as explained further below:

Section 43(2) provides that information is exempt if its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person. We consider disclosure of the requested information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the supplier. The terms of this contract are not on OS standard terms and conditions or the CCS Framework but derived from commercial agreements between the supplier and OS.

Disclosure of the requested information would as such, provide other suppliers with an insight into the pricing arrangements and would reveal the commercial basis on which the supplier operates. This information would prove advantageous for competitors and would impair the supplier’s ability to compete successfully in the commercial marketplace in which it operates and could harm the supplier’s ability to negotiate in future procurement exercises. Companies may seek to use this information to gain an advantage over their competitors and disclosure could be seen to be influencing the competition by publishing information that could help other suppliers of the same service.

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, the supplier has confirmed, and 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.

Exempt information under section 40(2) (Personal Information)

For the contracts in Part 1 and Part 2 of your request the information relating to the full name, contact number and direct email address for the person responsible for each of the contracts is 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 employee; given their position, which is not public facing, OS considers that the individual has a reasonable expectation that their personal data would not 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.

Advice and Assistance

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 may contact Procurement using the ‘Contact Us’ details on our website here: Contact us | General enquiries | OS (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)

Information in relation to our procurement process is available on our website on our procurement pages: General procurement and tender opportunities | Home | OS