FOI 30-23: Research Services to Support the Discovery Phase of the Assembly Commission’s Website Redevelopment and Rede Project

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

Our Ref: FOI 30-23

1 November 2023

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”)

I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 6 October 2023 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In your request, you asked:

“I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information for the Project - BR-078-2022 Research Services to Support the Discovery Phase of the Assembly Commission’s Website Redevelopment and Rede, Notice Reference - GB003ZM495524

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 I would prefer to receive the information electronically.”

The Assembly Commission holds information in relation to your request however some information is subject to the exemption under s43 of the FOIA (Commercially Sensitive) as outlined in this response. 

1. Copy of successful tender (by removing confidential information).

The Assembly Commission considers this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 43 (2) of the FOIA (Commercially Sensitive) as outlined below.

2. Scoring table of all bidders, split by scores awarded for each question of bid? 

The Assembly Commission considers some of this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 43 (2) of the FOIA (Commercially Sensitive) and therefore the table has been anonymised and the breakdown of scores have been totalled. 

A contract has been awarded to the number one ranked supplier. It was considered the most economically advantageous tender and it met all the requirements.

The ranked scores are as follows:

3. Approximate date that the tender will be reissued towards the end of the current contract period. 

At present, this contract is considered as a one-time-only business need i.e. it is not a recurring contract. Therefore, when the contract period ends, there is no intention to retender for the services.

The Assembly Commission publishes all competitions through the eTenders NI portal

4. How many bidders submitted responses? 

The Assembly Commission confirms that in response to this competition it received ten tender bids.

5. Name of all bidders who submitted responses. 

The Assembly Commission considers this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 43 (2) of FOIA (Commercially Sensitive) as outlined below.

6. Rank of all bidders who submitted responses.

Please note the response as outlined in question 2.

S43 Commercially Sensitive

The Assembly Commission considers that some of the information relevant to your request is exempt from disclosure under section 43 (2) of the FOIA (Commercially Sensitive).

Section 43 (2) is a qualified exemption and therefore it is necessary to carry out a public interest test to identify whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption is greater than that in providing the information.

In this case, the public interest in disclosure is out-weighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

There is a significant public interest in ensuring proper scrutiny of the Assembly Commission’s spending of public money. Therefore, there is a significant public interest in ensuring that its commercial activities are conducted in an open and transparent way.

The Assembly Commission ensures transparency and accountability in spending public money through proactive publication on the eTenders NI portal. This maximises transparency while minimising prejudice to the commercial interests of the Assembly Commission and the tenderers.

There is a strong and legitimate public interest in private companies being able to compete in a commercial market on a level playing field, and disclosure of the withheld information, which would be likely to prejudice that ability to compete, would undermine that public interest.

Further, there is a strong public interest in ensuring that the ability of the Assembly Commission to secure value for public money is not undermined and that the integrity of future procurements is protected.

You have the right to request a formal review by the Assembly Commission and if you wish to do so, please write to me at the above address. If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF which will undertake an independent review.

The Assembly Commission may publish details of your FOI request and its official response within the organisational disclosure log. The request will be completely anonymised and you will not be identified in any way. This is to meet the requirements as laid out by in the agreed publication scheme with the Information Commissioners’ Office.

Yours sincerely

Data Protection and Governance Officer