Disclosure Log
Mobile phones contract (FOI/4738)
Message from Nottinghamshire County Council - 18 September 2024
Dear *****
Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI/00004738
Thank you for your email of 3 September 2024 where you requested:
1. Network Provider(s) - Please provide me with the network provider name e.g., EE, Telefonica, Vodafone, Three
2. Annual Average Spend for each Network Provider - If this is a new contract, can you please provide the estimated annual spend.
3. Number of Connections- Number of connections for each network provider. (Number of voices only devices, voice and data devices, data only devices) please provide me with the breakdown and not the overall total.
4. Duration of the contract- please state if the contract also includes contract extensions for each provider.
5. Contract Start Date- please can you provide me with the start date of the signed agreement. Please do not provide me with the framework contract date I require the contract dates of the signed agreement. (if there are multiple start dates, could you please provide me with the earliest date for each provider)
6. Contract Expiry Date- please can you provide me with the expiry date of the signed agreement. Please do not provide me with the framework contract date. I require the contract dates of the signed agreement. If the contract is rolling, please state.
7. Contract Review Date- Please can you provide me with a date when the organisation plans to review this contract.
8. The person in the organisation responsible for this particular contract. Can you send me the full contact details Contact Name, Job Title, Contact Number and direct email address for each network provider If full contact details cannot be provided, please send me their actual job title.
9.If the mobile phone contract is provided by a managed contract, please provide me with the actual name of the network provider along with the number of connections and the internal contact from within the organisation responsible for this contract.
10. Is this contract part of an aggregation exercise
Please can you provide me with the latest information- If the organisations are currently out to tender, please can you also state the approx. date of the award along with the information above.
Also, if the contract in the response has expired/rolling please can you provide me with further information if available of the organisation"s plans going forward with regards to mobiles and the contract status
If this contract was awarded within the past three months, can you please provide me with a shortlist of suppliers that bid on the contract
I can confirm that the Council holds this information. This information is exempt under section 31 (law enforcement) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and is therefore being withheld.
S31(1) provides, “Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 31 is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice – (a) the prevention or detection of crime”.
In consideration of whether the information you have requested can be released, I have applied the prejudice test as set out within s31(1) as well as that adopted in Christopher Martin Hogan and Oxford City Council v the Information Commissioner (EA/2005/0026 and 0030, 17 October 2006).
Applicable interests
There is a prejudice which could affect the council’s interests in the prevention or detection of crime. This is therefore an applicable interest identified and therefore relevant to this exemption which it is designed to protect.
Nature of the prejudice
Turning to the nature of the prejudice, by disclosing the details of our mobile phone contract the council considers that there is a real risk that this could have a detrimental effect on the prevention or detection of crime.
If disclosed, the information could be used by hackers, scammer and other malicious actors to compromise the council’s ICT systems. The council are of the view that releasing this could impact on their cyber security if disclosed to external organisations, partners or members of the public. Such information may be used illegal purposes such as cyber-attacks on the organisation.
There is also the cost and resources implications involved in recovering from a cyber-attack arising from the disclosure of the information requested.
This list is not exhaustive and there are likely to be other potential prejudice caused in relation to the specific information that you have requested.
Likelihood of prejudice
Considering the above, I will now consider the likelihood of prejudice. S31(1) states that information can be exempt where disclosure, “would, or would be likely to” cause prejudice. In considering where prejudice, “would” occur, I conclude that the above circumstances is more probable than not and that there is a real and significant risk of prejudice in releasing the information requested.
In considering where prejudice, “would be likely” to occur, I conclude that there is a real and significant risk of the prejudice occurring even though the probability of such may fall short of being more probable than not (as per judgment of Mr Justice Munby in R (on the application of R (Lord) v Secretary of State for the Home Office[2003] EWHC 2073.
Cyber crime activities can be linked to the release of sensitive data relating to ICT systems and contracts. It is a realistic possibility that the information requested would or would likely lead to prejudice to the council as outlined in s31(1).
Public Interest Test
Having considered the prejudice test, I now turn to the public interest test which I am obliged to consider in relying on the qualified exemption at s31(1) to decide whether or not the information should nevertheless be disclosed.
In considering the public interest test, the council pays attention to the need to show openness, transparency and accountability to show citizens how public funds are spent and how activities are carried out by the council on their behalf. This would allow better scrutiny by taxpayers. Furthermore, openness with future competitors may lead to more competition and therefore better value for money for citizens.
However, in favour of maintaining the exemption, a council must be allowed to act to prevent or detect criminal activities as well as protect residents from being exposed to such. There is a clear public interest in protecting society from the impact of crime. It is also right to take account of the cost of recovering from the impact of cyber-crime. Furthermore, the council must consider the effect on public resources and funds should this information be released into the public domain.
In considering your request, I have considered the legislation and the ICO guidance on that legislation.
Having considered the public interest, the Council’s decision is therefore to withhold the information.
Your privacy: we use your personal information such as name and address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests. For further details about the use of information about you, please see the information handling privacy notice on our website at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/4323566/informationgovernanceandinformationrightsprivacynotice.pdf.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be addressed to: Complaints and Information – Team Manager, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NOTTINGHAM, NG2 7QP or [email protected].
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, SK9 5AF or https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/foi-and-eir-complaints/.
Yours sincerely
Colin Sawers
Information Case Officer | Customers, Complaints and Information
Chief Executive"s Department | Nottinghamshire County Council
County Hall | Loughborough Road | West Bridgford | NOTTINGHAM | NG2 7QP
Tel: (0115) 977 3714