FOI 431-2024 / Apr 2024 / Office supplies

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 431-2024

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 18^th April 2024 as follows:

 

1. Spend on Office supplies and associated products for the below financial years.

 

1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023

1st April 2023 – 31st March 2024

 

2. Start date & duration of Contract?

 

3. Is there an extension clause in the contract and, if so, the duration of the extension?

 

4. Has a decision been made yet on whether the contract is to be either extended or renewed?

 

5. Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for the contract?

 

6. Name of Incumbent Supplier?

 

7. How long have you traded with them?

 

8. If you publish your register of contracts and purchasing, can you please provide a website link.

 

9. In addition, can you confirm if you have a contract in place for Tail End Spend.

 

On 24^th April 2024 we requested the following clarification:

 

Please clarify what you mean by ‘office supplies’, is it stationery, or office furniture, or as in printers/photocopiers etc. We may have different contracts for different areas/supplies. Please could you be more specific.

 

On 24^th April you provided the following:

 

Thank you for your email, to clarify I would like information on your spend on Office Supplies, Stationery, Paper, Ink and Toner, etc

 

Ideally all spend that is identified under the following CPV Code.

30000000 – Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages I had added a description below.

 

Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages code description The category “Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages” encompasses a wide range of products and items that are essential for office operations and computing needs. It includes office machinery, equipment, and supplies, excluding computers, printers, and furniture. This category covers items such as photocopiers, scanners, shredders, paper, stationery, writing instruments, and other office essentials. Additionally, it includes computer equipment and supplies, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals

 

Please find your questions and the Warwickshire Police responses set out below.

 

1. Spend on Office supplies and associated products for the below financial years.

 

1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023

1st April 2023 – 31st March 2024

 

Q1 response: Warwickshire Police Contract & Procurement Department has identified four contracts which fall within the remit of your request.  However, these are wider encompassing than just those items listed above, for example, computer equipment and supplies such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals fall under the same contract as software licences.  Furthermore, the contract in relation to photocopiers, scanners, ink and toner falls under the same contract as printers. 

 

Therefore, it is not possible to provide spend specifically for the items listed as there are 461 items for the relevant contracts, and in order to determine whether they fall within the categories listed in the request it would be necessary to review each and every invoice on an individual basis and collate the information.  The Finance Department has advised that this take in excess of 18 hours to complete and is therefore above the amount of work to which we are legally required to undertake i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ (£450) as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. 

 

In accordance s12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this request.

 

In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request; however due to the amount of records involved, I am unable to suggest a way to revise your request into one which could be answered within the fees limit.

 

2. Start date & duration of Contract?

 

Q2 response:

 

Contract Name & Reference	Categories relevant to request	Start Date & duration of Contract
Provision of Office Supplies Including Customised Digital Media Storage WP21-0038	Office supplies including paper & general stationery	01/09/2021 2 years has been extended to 31/08/2024
Provision of IT Hardware, Software & Associated Services WP21-0088	Computer equipment and supplies, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals	01/12/2021 2 years has been extended to 30/11/2024
Amazon Business Account for Various Small Value Purchases WP21-0126	Any ad hoc office supplies not available from contracted suppliers	22/11/2021 has been extended until 23/01/2027
Managed Service for Multi-Functional Device (MFD) Provision WP23-0132	Photocopiers, scanners, ink & toner	01/04/2024 2 years

 

3. Is there an extension clause in the contract and, if so, the duration of the extension?

 

Q3 response:

 

Contract Name & Reference	Categories relevant to request	Extensions
Provision of Office Supplies Including Customised Digital Media Storage WP21-0038	Office supplies including paper & general stationery	Further 12 month extension is available
Provision of IT Hardware, Software & Associated Services WP21-0088	Computer equipment and supplies, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals	Further 12 month extension is available
Amazon Business Account for Various Small Value Purchases WP21-0126	Any ad hoc office supplies not available from contracted suppliers	n/a
Managed Service for Multi-Functional Device (MFD) Provision WP23-0132	Photocopiers, scanners, ink & toner	n/a

 

4. Has a decision been made yet on whether the contract is to be either extended or renewed?

 

Q4 response:

 

Contract Name & Reference	Categories relevant to request	Decision regarding extension or renewal
Provision of Office Supplies Including Customised Digital Media Storage WP21-0038	Office supplies including paper & general stationery	Review closer to expiry
Provision of IT Hardware, Software & Associated Services WP21-0088	Computer equipment and supplies, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals	Review closer to expiry
Amazon Business Account for Various Small Value Purchases WP21-0126	Any ad hoc office supplies not available from contracted suppliers	Review closer to expiry
Managed Service for Multi-Functional Device (MFD) Provision WP23-0132	Photocopiers, scanners, ink & toner	Review closer to expiry

 

5. Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for the contract?

 

Q5 response:

 

Contract Name & Reference	Categories relevant to request	Senior Officer
Provision of Office Supplies Including Customised Digital Media Storage WP21-0038	Office supplies including paper & general stationery	Pam Lotta Business Operations Manager
Provision of IT Hardware, Software & Associated Services WP21-0088	Computer equipment and supplies, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals	Mike Carr Digital Services Manager
Amazon Business Account for Various Small Value Purchases WP21-0126	Any ad hoc office supplies not available from contracted suppliers	Pam Lotta Business Operations Manager
Managed Service for Multi-Functional Device (MFD) Provision WP23-0132	Photocopiers, scanners, ink & toner	Mike Carr Digital Services Manager

 

6. Name of Incumbent Supplier?

 

Q6 response:

 

Contract Name & Reference	Categories relevant to request	Incumbent Supplier Name
Provision of Office Supplies Including Customised Digital Media Storage WP21-0038	Office supplies including paper & general stationery	ACS Business Supplies Ltd
Provision of IT Hardware, Software & Associated Services WP21-0088	Computer equipment and supplies, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals	Specialist Computer Centres plc (SCC)
Amazon Business Account for Various Small Value Purchases WP21-0126	Any ad hoc office supplies not available from contracted suppliers	Amazon Business EU SARL
Managed Service for Multi-Functional Device (MFD) Provision WP23-0132	Photocopiers, scanners, ink & toner	Ricoh UK Ltd

 

7. How long have you traded with them?

 

Q7 response:

 

Contract Name & Reference	Categories relevant to request	Length of time trading with supplier
Provision of Office Supplies Including Customised Digital Media Storage WP21-0038	Office supplies including paper & general stationery	Since 2021
Provision of IT Hardware, Software & Associated Services WP21-0088	Computer equipment and supplies, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, cables, and other peripherals	No specific information held but since at least 2014
Amazon Business Account for Various Small Value Purchases WP21-0126	Any ad hoc office supplies not available from contracted suppliers	No specific information held but at least 2021
Managed Service for Multi-Functional Device (MFD) Provision WP23-0132	Photocopiers, scanners, ink & toner	No specific information held but since at least 2014

 

 

8. If you publish your register of contracts and purchasing, can you please provide a website link.

 

Q8 response: https://sell2.in-tend.co.uk/blpd/contracts

 

9. In addition, can you confirm if you have a contract in place for Tail End Spend.

 

Q9 response: No, we do not have a Tail End Spend contract.

 

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

[email protected]