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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: FOI-419-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 17th April 2023 as follows:
This is a request for information that relates to the organisation’s contracts around ICT contract(s) for Server Hardware Maintenance, Server Virtualisation Licenses and Maintenance and Storage Area Network (SAN) Maintenance/Support, which may include:
For each of the types of contract described above, please can you provide me with the following data. If there is more than one contract please split the information for each separate supplier this includes annual spend
14.Contract Owner: (The person from within the organisation that is responsible for reviewing and renewing this particular contract. Please include their full name, job title, direct contact number and direct email address.)
If this service is part of a managed contract, please can you send me the contract information for this managed service including Hardware Brand, Number of Users, Operating System, and contact details of the internal contact responsible for this contract
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at, section 1(1)(b), is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.
Where exemptions are relied upon section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Warwickshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemptions applicable to the information are:
Section 24(1) - National Security
Section 31(1) - Law Enforcement
Sections 24 and 31 are prejudice based qualified exemptions which require both evidence of harm and public interest considerations to be articulated to the applicant. Please find these set out below.
Harm
In considering disclosure it must be taken into account the fact that release of information under the FOIA is to ‘the whole world’ and not just to an individual applicant. It is therefore necessary to consider the effect of releasing the information into the public domain.
Disclosure of the brand and operating platform has the potential to undermine law enforcement and threaten national security by providing an awareness of exactly what is used by individual forces. Release of this information would highlight to hackers intent on carrying out cyber-attacks on police systems, potential vulnerabilities which would ultimately allow them to evade or circumvent detection.
Public Interest Considerations
Section 24 - Factors favouring disclosure
The public are entitled to know how public funds are spent and how resources are distributed within an area of policing.
Section 24 - Factors against disclosure
If Warwickshire Police were to fall victim to hackers, the implications would affect the country on a national scale and therefore could adversely affect national security as well as undermine policing.
Police information, intelligence and tactics could be obtained, resulting in the criminal fraternity, including terrorists, gaining knowledge that will assist in the planning of offences and evading detection. Any incident that results from such a disclosure would, by default, affect National Security.
Section 31 - Factors favouring disclosure
Disclosing information relevant to this request would lead to a better informed public.
Section 31 - Factors against disclosure
Disclosure of such information would suggest Warwickshire Police take their responsibility to protect information and information systems from unauthorised access, destruction, etc., dismissively and inappropriately. The release of this type of information would better inform a criminal intent on launching a cyber-attack against the police. If a force was hacked and this led to their IT systems not working efficiently then this would have a negative impact upon the prevention and detection of crime.
Balancing Test
The points above highlight the merits for and against disclosure of the requested information.
The public entrust the Police Service to make appropriate decisions with regard to their safety and protection and the only way of reducing risk is to be cautious with what is placed into the public domain.
Disclosure would undoubtedly provide greater openness, and whilst there is always a public interest in the transparency of how the police service deliver effective law enforcement and protect national security, there is a very strong public interest in safeguarding information contained in IT systems.
The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. As part of that policing purpose, information is gathered which can be highly sensitive and weakening the protection of such information would place the security of the country at an increased risk and compromise law enforcement. In addition, anything that places the confidence in the police service at risk, no matter how generic, would undermine public trust and confidence.
Therefore, at this moment in time, it is our opinion that for these issues the balance test favours withholding this information.
This serves as a refusal notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to these elements of your request.
Please see the information for the remaining questions set out below.
Purchase Server Hardware
Q1 response: Supply & Install Server-Storage Solution
Q2 response: Server Hardware
Q3 response: Telefonica, previously Cancom UK
Q4 response: Exempt s24 and s31
Q5 response: Exempt s24 and s31
Q6 response: £50749.06 although please note that £16306.25 were due to one off costs.
Q7 response: 6 months
Q8 response: Expired November 2021
Q9 response: n/a as expired
Q10 response: April/May 2021
Q11 response: 33
Q12 response: Not applicable
Q13 response: Supply and Install Server-Storage Solution
14.Contract Owner: (The person from within the organisation that is responsible for reviewing and renewing this particular contract. Please include their full name, job title, direct contact number and direct email address.)
Q14 response: James Viggers, Procurement Manager.
With regard to the direct telephone number and email address of James Viggers, your request for information has now been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested.
Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Warwickshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption applicable to the requested information is:
Section 40(2) Personal information
Section 40(2) is an absolute class-based exemption, which does not require evidence of the harm disclosure would cause and does not require consideration of a public interest test.
Please be advised that any information released as a result of a Freedom of Information request, in effect, is being released into the public domain. Therefore, it could subsequently be published or would have to be made available to any member of the public if it were requested.
Any information that relates to an individual, or from which an individual could be identified, constitutes personal data and to release information that constitutes personal data into the public domain contravenes the Data Protection Act 2018. The information that you have requested relates to personal data and/or personal data of a third party/parties and therefore it is exempt from disclosure, the exemption that applies to this type of information is Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
In accordance with the Act, this letter represents a Refusal Notice for this element of your request.
James can be contacted via the 101 non-emergency number or via [email protected]
Server Maintenance
Q1 response: ICT Managed Service Provider (MSP)
Q2 response: Server Maintenance
Q3 response: Bramble Hub
Q4 response: Exempt s24 and s31
Q5 response: Exempt s24 and s31
Q6 response: £11125
Q7 response: 3 years with option to extend for a further two 1 year periods
Q8 response: 31 March 2024
Q9 response: Review 31 March 2023
Q10 response: See above
Q11 response: 33
Q12 response: Not applicable
Q13 response: Provide support and maintenance across variety of digital services including server maintenance.
14.Contract Owner: (The person from within the organisation that is responsible for reviewing and renewing this particular contract. Please include their full name, job title, direct contact number and direct email address.)
Q14 response: Please refer to the response to Q14 of the Purchase Server Hardware section above.
VMware
Q1 response: VMware Enterprise Licence Agreement
Q2 response: Virtualisation
Q3 response: Police Digital Service (PDS)
Q4 response: Exempt s24 and s31
Q5 response: Exempt s24 and s31
Q6 response: £223893.86 although please note that £152496.26 were due to one off costs.
Q7 response: 3 years no extension periods
Q8 response: 20 December 2024
Q9 response: End of June 2024
Q10 response: See above.
Q11 response: 33
Q12 response: Not applicable
Q13 response: VMware Enterprise Licence Agreement
14.Contract Owner: (The person from within the organisation that is responsible for reviewing and renewing this particular contract. Please include their full name, job title, direct contact number and direct email address.)
Q14 response: Please refer to the response to Q14 of the Purchase Server Hardware section above.
Storage Area Network Maintenance/Support (EMC, NetApp etc)
Not applicable
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB