Information request about PHSO's contract with Silverbear Ltd and the procurement process of the PHSO stakeholder database contract
Part 1
Thank you for your email of 5 January 2015 in which you asked the following queries in relation to a contract between the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and Silverbear Ltd:
1. How was this company chosen to provide a £100k plus data base? (Contract file information)
2. Could you please tell me exactly what the development and of this data base entailed? (What the £50k plus was spent on?).
3. And why it is still costing over £50k a year to work on a specific PHSO stakeholder data base? (What is the public receiving for its money?).
I have attached some information that we hold which responds to questions 1 and 2 of your email. Please note, however, that some information is provisionally exempt from disclosure as its release is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of Silverbear, other companies invited to tender and the PHSO itself in accordance with section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). This information relates only to the pricing structure of all companies invited to tender, our evaluations of those tenders and the methodology that Silverbear used to deliver on the tender request.
Section 43 of the FOIA is subject to a public interest test when considering if this information should be released. I recognise the significant public interest in the scrutiny of how public money is spent, however I require additional time to fully consider any other factors that may influence my decision to disclose or not disclose this information. The FOIA states that this must be concluded within a reasonable time under section 10 (3) (b) – I expect this consideration to be completed within 20 working days, at which point I will advise whether the public interest favours disclosure.
Turning now to your third question, I can confirm that we do not hold any recorded information about it. This is because there are no longer any costs associated with this contract, which will be reflected in the future publication of PHSO resource accounts.
Part 2
Attached is the information relating to the tender, evaluation, and contract with Silverbear. This is being provided so you can see how the tender process was run and the decision was reached.
However, I have determined that the public interest in the release of some of the information is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that Silverbear (and each of the other companies) is able to compete fairly. It is this factor alone which stands out as most important, and as such the principle most requiring protection. Therefore some of the information contained the documents should not be released in accordance with section 43 of the FOIA. Please also note that a small amount of material has been withheld in accordance with section 40(2) of the FOIA as it contains information that is personal to another individual.
I hope the information is helpful.
FOI/DP Officer
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman