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E&T FOI Team Welsh Government
Treforest – QED Centre
Main Avenue Treforest Industrial Estate
Ponty pridd
CF37 5YR FOI.EconomyandTransport@gov.wales.
Rydym yn croesawu derbyn gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg. Byddwn yn ateb gohebiaeth a dderbynnir yn Gymraeg yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn arwain at oedi.
We welcome receiving correspondence in Welsh. Any correspondence received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and
corresponding in Welsh will not lead to a delay in responding.
Our ref ATISN 12453
Dear , Request for Information – ATISN 12453
I wrote to you on 12 July regarding your request for information on the FibreSpeed project. You asked for: 1. Dates, amounts and sources of both Welsh Government and European Union
funding and what these were for, both for the original deployment and the ongoing operation of the FibreSpeed network, specifically what was paid for what and when, in line with the initial contract.
2. The initial proposition for the FibreSpeed network for both the original proposition from the start of the development of the project and also the fully developed proposition on which the tender was eventually issued.
3. The tender document.
4. Those who applied, specifically those who put in bids for the tender in order to compare what one was offering against another.
5. Information on any changes made to the FibreSpeed contract (following the initial contract to deliver the service between FibreSpeed/Geo/Zayo and the Welsh Government, were any amendments or exclusions made between that initial signing and now?). Specifically, how the contract between Hutchison/Geo and the Welsh Government has developed and any subsequent amendments to the original agreement and undertaking, for example, addition, removal or change of wording.
6. Information on the FibreSpeed benchmarking process and outcomes since the outset of the project, specifically: details of the process and how it works; what
7 August 2018
E&T FOI Team Welsh Government
Treforest – QED Centre
Main Avenue Treforest Industrial Estate
Ponty pridd
CF37 5YR FOI.EconomyandTransport@gov.wales.
Rydym yn croesawu derbyn gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg. Byddwn yn ateb gohebiaeth a dderbynnir yn Gymraeg yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn arwain at oedi.
We welcome receiving correspondence in Welsh. Any correspondence received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and
corresponding in Welsh will not lead to a delay in responding.
areas are compared with where; is it always the same areas; who are they benchmarking against; is it wholesale, or retail; and if wholesale, at what tier.
I confirm the Welsh Government holds the information you have requested. For your first question, some of the information you have requested is already in the public domain, as follows: Information about EU funding for FibreSpeed is provided at: https://gov.wales/docs/wefo/publications/150407wefo-all-en.pdf Information about payments and payment dates is available at Annex C of the following previous FoI response: https://gov.wales/about/open-government/freedom-of-information/responses/2018/Apr18/atisn11914/?lang=en Other information we hold is provided at Annex 1 to this letter. We hold the following information in relation to your second question:
“Based upon the Broadband Wales Strategy 2005 to 2007 (published on 19th January 2005) the Broadband Wales FibreSpeed Project aims to meet the following objectives:
Deliver high-speed broadband services to strategic business parks and locations (where ‘high-speed’ is defined as a minimum of 10Mbit/s symmetric and capable of supporting Gbit/s requirements); and,
Ensure these services are available at affordable prices, benchmarked against London and South East of England.
Ensure that Wales has extensive geographic access to competitive wholesale infrastructure”
The tender document is given at Annex 2. I understand you already have a copy of the project agreement referred to in the tender document following its release under ATISN 11914. For your fourth question, I can advise that the companies who applied were: Geo; and Alcatel Lucent and Atkins. Your fifth request is being refused under Reg12(4)(b) of the EIRs, manifestly unreasonable for the reasons outlined at Annex 3. For your sixth question, I would refer you to Clause 13 of the 2007 contract, which I understand you already have a copy of following its release under ATISN 11914.
E&T FOI Team Welsh Government
Treforest – QED Centre
Main Avenue Treforest Industrial Estate
Ponty pridd
CF37 5YR FOI.EconomyandTransport@gov.wales.
Rydym yn croesawu derbyn gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg. Byddwn yn ateb gohebiaeth a dderbynnir yn Gymraeg yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn arwain at oedi.
We welcome receiving correspondence in Welsh. Any correspondence received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and
corresponding in Welsh will not lead to a delay in responding.
If you are dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s handling of your request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this response. Requests for an internal review should be addressed to the Welsh Government’s Freedom of Information Officer at: Information Rights Unit, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ or Email: Freedom.ofinformation@gov.wales. Please remember to quote the ATISN reference number above. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. However, please note that the Commissioner will not normally investigate a complaint until it has been through our own internal review process.
Yours sincerely
ANNEX 1
FibreSpeed for Goods and Services
Description
Provision of Subduct rights in Geo Duct – Betley to Manchester Telecity
Objective 1 Area – North Wales Business Park to St Asaph Business Park. Less 5% Retention
Objective 1 Area – Parc Menai to Parc Bryn Cegin. Less 5% Retention
Objective 1 Area – Parc Menai to Victoria dock. Less 5 % Retention
Network Design and Specification
Detailed Design Acceptance Objective 1 Area
Detailed Design Acceptance Non Objective 1 Area
Objective 1 Area – North Wales Business Park to St Asaph Business Park. Less 5% Retention
Objective 1 Area – Llandudno Junction to North Wales Business Park. Less 5% Retention
Objective 1 Area – Parc Menai to Victoria Dock. Less 5% Retention
Parc Menai to Parc Bryn Cegin. Less 5% Retention
Parc Caer Seion to Llandudno Junction. Less 5% Retention
St Asaph Business Park to Deeside Industrial Estate. Less % Retention
Llandudno Junction to North Wales Business Park. Less 5% Retention
Interim Material Milestone
Submilestone 6b(2) – Llandudno Junction to North Wales Business Park. Less 5% Retention
Parc Menai to Victoria Dock. Retention withheld from Invoice 10 and Invoice 2
Milestone 4a – Parc Bryn Cegin to Parc Caer Seion. Less retention @ 5%
St Asaph Business Park to Deeside Industrial Estate. Less 5% Retention
Milestone 3b(2) – Parc Menai to Parc Bryn. Retention in 3a and Retention in 3b(1)
Milestone 51b(2) – St Asaph Business Park to Deeside Industrial Estate. Retention on 51a. Retention on 51B1. Less materials already invoiced (INV 21)
Milestone 6c – Llandudno Junction to North Wales Business Park. Retentions due on 6a, 6b1, 6b2. Less materials already invoiced (INV 21)
Milestone 1a(1) – Parc Cybi to Parc Menai. Less 5% Retention
Milestone 4b – Parc Bryn Cegin to Parc Caer Seion. Less 5% retention
Milestone 24b – Victoria Dock to Telecity Manchester (Network Resilience) Less retention @ 5%
Material Milestone 106
Parc Menai access network less retention at 5%
Material Milestone 101
Milestone 5a(2). Less Retention. Less Allocation of Material Milestone (100 & 101)
Material Milestone 102 Material Milestone 103 Material Milestone 104 Material Milestone 105
Milestone 4c1. Less 5% Retention
Milestone 11a – Parc Bryn Cegin. Less 5% Retention
Milestone 81
Milestone 18
Recharge of legal costs for renegotiation
Milestone 10b. Less 5% Retention
Legal Fees in association with renogotiation, for the period 28th Feb 2008 to 28th March 2001
Milestone 1a2
Milestone 15a Park Fibre Build. Less 5% Retention
Milestone 11b. Less 5% Retention. Less Material Allocation
Milestone 9b. Less 5% Retention
St Asaph Facility Build. Less 5% Retention. Less materials already invoiced
Milestone 58c. Less 5% Retention. Less material allocation
Milestone 58B. Less 5% Retention. Less material allocations
Milestone 58B. Less 5% Retention. Less material allocations
Milestone 57B – Section 2 Wrexham Indust. Less 5% Retention. Less material already invoiced
Milestone 57C. Less 5% Retention. Less material already invoiced
Milestone 57a. Less 5% Retention. Less material already invoiced
Milestone 56a. Less 5% Retention. Less material already invoiced
Milestone 9c – Victoria Dock. Retention held on Milestone
Milestone 10c – Parc Menai. Retention held on Milestone
Milestone 12a Milestone 12b Less material allocation against 12b Milestone 12c
Milestone 8a – Parc Cybi Milestone 8b – Parc Cybi Milestone 8c – Parc Cybi Less Material Milestone
Milestone 15c St Asaph. Retention Held on Milestone
Milestone 11c. Retention Held on Milestone
Milestone 9a – Victoria Dock
Milestone 4c2 – Parc Bryn Cegin to Parc Caer Seion. Retention held on Milestone
Milestone 14a Milestone 14b Less material allocation on 14b Milestone 14c1 Milestone 14c2
Change Control on Milestone 11c
Milestone 16
Milestone 17
Milestone 19
Milestone 20
Milestone 21
Milestone 23
Milestone 24a – Network Resilience
Milestone 5a3 – Parc Caer Seion to Llandudno Junction. Retention held on Milestone
Retention on Milestone 1b
Milestone 1c – Ty Mawr to Parc Menai Retention held on milestone
Milestone 1b-Ty Mawr to Parc Menai Less retention
Milestone 26 Clbyn Ind’ Estate
Milestone 27 Llangefni
Milestone 27 Llangefni
Infrastructure Rights
Milestone 51d2 Retention Held on 51d1 (Inv 47) Less materials allocation
Milestone 51e Milestone 51e
Milestone 52b2 (includes credit of £360 incorrectly billed on 52b1 – Inv 46) Retention held on MS 52BLLess materials milestone allocation
Milestone 57d Less materials allocation Retention on 57a Retention on 57b Retention on 57c
Milestone 53 Less materials milestone allocation
Milestone 54 Less materials milestone allocation
Milestone 55 Warren Hall to Wrexham Tech’ Park Less materials milestone allocation
Retention on MS52a
Milestone 56b – Wrexham Tech Park to Wrexham Ind Estate. Less Materials milestone allocation
Milestone 56b – Wrexham Tech Park to Wrexham Ind’ Estate Less materials milestone allocation
Balance of retention on MS1
Retention on MS56a
Milestone 58d – Betley to Manchester Less material milestone allocation
Milestone 64a – Deeside Ind Estate Less retention
Infrastructure rights at Victoria Docks
Recharge of legal fees for renegotiation
Milestone 25
Mold build cost less 5% retention
Infrastructure rights at St Davids
Stone Wall at Parc Cybi
Fibrespeed Doc Folder X 4000 Fibrespeed A5 Landscape flyer x3000 Fibrespeed A4 Brochure (En) x2000 Fibrespeed A4 Brochure (Cy) x 500 A6 Advertising Notepad X1000 Isis ball pen X2000 Golf Umbrella X 200 Delivery and set up Asst Mens and Ladies Polo Shirts X100
61A – Wrexham Ind Est’ Fibre
62A – Hawarden Bus’ Park Fibre 62B – Hawarden Bus’ Park Facility Build 62C – Hawarden Business Park Tower / Compound 63A – St Davids Park Fibre 63B – St Davids Park Facility Build 63C – St Davids Park Tower Tower / Compound 64B – Deeside Ind’ Est’ Facility Build 64C – Deeside Ind’ Est’ Tower / Compound
WP027 – Llangefn
Chester Races
Milestone 65(1) Wrexham Active Equip
60a – Wrexham Tech’ Park Fibre 20% complete 73c – Mold complete 73d – Mold complete 60b – Wrexham Tech’ Park Facility Build 80% complete 60c – Wrexham Tech’ Park Tower/Compound 50% complete 68 – Wrexham Tech’ Park B side active 61B – Wrexham Ind’ Estate Facility Build 80% complete 61C – Wrexham Ind’ Est’ Tower/Compound 50% complete Interim Milestone 64c(2) – Tower 40% complete
Retention 24b Retention 64a
Retention payment shortfall – milestone 56a, 58b/c/e
MS70 St Davids Equipment
Parc Cybi Power (FSCC43) Wrexham Tech’ Power (FSCC460)
Victoria Dock Parc Bryn Cegin Parc Caes Seion North Wales St. Asaph Wrexham Industrial Hawarden Bus’ Park St. Davids Park Deeside Industrial
Operation Support – Main network Q1 Apr’ ’09 – Jun’ ‘09
Operation Support – Resilient Route
Cybyn retention less bond
Operational Support – Customer orders Q1 Apr ’09 – Jun’09
Acquisition & Planning Fees NWBP Access Track Legal Legal and registry & Surveyor fees
North Wales Bus’ Park rent Deeside rent
Rent Wrexham Tech’ Park
02 Op Support – Customer orders
Milestone 64c – Deeside Industrial Est’ Milestone 68 0- Wrexham Tech’ Park
Op.Support Q1 – Q3 wpo – Clbyn & Llangfni
Q3 Op. Support main service
Milestone 28a – Design Specification and pre mobilisation
Milestone 29a – Design Specification and pre mobilisation
Milestone 29b – Materials and Mobilisation
Milestone 28b – Bangor Menai
Milestone 60b – Wrexham Tech’ Park Milestone 60c – Wrexham Tech’ Park
Milestone 30B – Victoria Dock
Milestone 30A – Victoria Dock
Milestone 29K Llangefni Cpop
Operational support adjustment as agreed
Milestone 30a – Victoria Dock
Milestone 30b – Victoria Dock
Milestone 28F – Bangor Menai Bridge
Milestone 61B – Wrexham Ind Estate Milestone 61C – Wrexham Ind’ Estate
Milestone 73 B,C,D Mold
Milestone 28 C,D,E Bangor Menai Bridge
Milestone 29G Bangor,Llangefni 2 – Llangefni Town Milestone 29H Bangor, Llangefni Park Fibre Milstone 29J Bangor, Enhanced resilience junction 6
Milestone 29C – Bangor Menai Bridge Milestone 29D Bangor Menai Bridge – Penmynydd 1.90% completion track and box build Milestone 29F Bangor Penmynydd 2 – Llangefni 2.90% completion track and box build
Milestone 30H – Victoria Dock, Carillion Duct Saron – Lon Cefn Glyn (40% completion track and box build) Milestone 30I - Victoria Dock, Carillion Duct Lon Cefn Glyn – Govt infrastructure Milestone 30K – Victoria Dock, Carillion Duct Materials mobilisation for sub duct, cable & splicing accessories (change control)
Milestone 30C Victoria Dock, Carillion Duct Tanrallt Interconnect Ffordd Eryrl (80% completion track and box build) Milestone 30E - Victoria Dock, Carillion Duct Ysbyty Eryrl – Ffordd Pant/ Lon Parc Milestone 30F – Victoria Dock. Carillion Duct Ffordd Pant/Lon Parc Llanfaglan (50% completion track and box build) Milestone 30G – Victoria Dock. Carillion Ducr Llanfaglan – Saron (40% completion track and box build)
Milestone 31 A Llandudno Junction Supply of Materials
Milestone 60A – Wrexham Technology Park Fibre
Customer Connection Operating Support Operational Year 1 Quarter 4
Operating Support for Quarter 4 of Operational Year 1 Credit issued as a result of recalculation phasing. Maximum Operating Support in accordance with invoices issued in previous quarters.
Redwither Waterproofing Rewither Waterproofing Crane Hire Acquisition costs
Op.support Q3 - install
Operating Support for Cibyn & Llangefni WPOs for Operational Year 1 Quarter 4
Operating Support on IBO for Quarter 4 of Operational Year 1
Rent on Redwither Tower paid to Lawrence Graham
Milestone 29d (10%) Milestone 29e (100%) Milestone 29f (10%)
Milestone 30c (20%) Milestone 30d (100%) Milestone 30f (50%) Milestone 30g (60%) Milestone 30h (60%) Milestone 30j (100%)
IBO and WPO Operating Support Q1 Year 2
Milestone 28G Milestone 29I
Change Conbtrol – FS/CC/09 Sub Duct, Cabling, Splicing and Testing Victoria Dock to Aberdesach Milestone 31K
Main Operating Support Q2 Yr2
Customer Connections Operating Support Q1 and 2 Operational Year 2
Customer Connection Support Op Year 2 Q3
Main operating Support Bangor University Public Sector Benefit (Bangor)
Change Control: FS/CC/108 Installation of Primary Duct – Garth Road
Milestone 31B Llandudno Junction Passive Works Milestone 31C Llandudno Junction Active Works
Milestone 87
Q4 Operational Year 2: Customer Connection Support
Operational Year 3: Quarter 1 IBO/WPO Operating Support
Operational Year 3: Q1 Customer Connection Support
CR : FS/CC/115 Wrexham to Deeside upgrade
Operational Year 3: Q2 connection support
FS/CC/117 Parc Cybi Tower Extension
Operational Year 3: Quarter 2 IBO/WPO Operating
Opertional Year 3: Quarter 3 IBO/WPO Operating Support
FS/CC/116 Additional Batteries for Parc Menai Strategic Site
Operational Year 3 Q3 Customer Connection Support
Pwllheli POP Design & Upfront Preparation Costs
Operating Support invoice calculated in accordance with Schedule 5 notwithstanding the position set-out by Fibrespeed in respect to the Revenue Shortfall in the Operational Year 3 report
Customer Connections Operational Support Op Yr 3 Q4
Full Operating Support Op Yr4 Q1
Cost in relation to Settlement and Restructuring Agreement in accordance with clauses
12.1.3(a)
Full Operating Support Op Yr4 Q2
Customer Connections Operational Support: Operating Year 4 – Quarter 1
Project Canterbury Costs up to 30th September 2012 Legal Fees General Manager – July 12.25 days General Manager – July Expenses General Manager – Aug – 11 Days General Manager – Sep – 14 Days General Manager – Sep Expenses
Project Canterbury Costs up to 31st October 2012 Legal Fees General Manager 12 Days General Manager – Expenses
Project Canterbury Costs up to 30 November 2012 Legal Fees General Manager 17 Days General Manager – Expenses
Customer Connections Operating Support Operating Year 4 – Quarter 2
576772
Full Operating Support Op Yr 4 Q3
Project Canterbury Costs up to 31 December 2012 Legal Fees General Manager 11 Days General Manager – Expenses
Customer Connections Operating Support Operating Year 4 – Quarter 3
Core Services Transition Fixed Cost
Full Operating Support Operating Yr 4 Q4
Customer Connections Operating Support Operating Year 4 – Quarter 4
Deed of variation E Non-Commercialised Assets Decommissioning Maintenance charge 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2014
Deed of variation E Non-Commercialised Assets Decommissioning Maintenance charge 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015
Telecommunications Service
Telecommunications Service
Telecommunications Service
Telecommunications Service
Milestone 71 – Raglan site active equipment
Milestone 86 – Deeside Active Equipment
Milestone 69 – Hawarden Active Equipment
Change Control FSCC106 Menai Bridge Cable
WPO-04 Bangor – FSCC105 WPO-04 Bangor – FSCC109 Supply of Power to Llangefni CPoP WPO-04 Bangor – FSCC063 Hawarden Chambers
CR: FS/CC/115 Wrexham to Deeside Upgrade
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ANNEX 2
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
FibreSpeed – Open Access Networks for Wales
Invitation to Submit Final Tenders
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CONTENTS
Clause Page
1 PREFACE................................................................................................... 3
2 NOTIFICATION FOR INVITATION TO SUBMIT FINAL TENDER ........................... 3
3 PREPARATION OF ISFT ............................................................................... 3
4 COPYRIGHT............................................................................................... 4
5 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 5
6 PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................. 6
7 CONTENT OF TENDERS ............................................................................... 7
8 RETURN OF TENDERS ................................................................................. 7
9 AWARD CRITERIA AND PROCESS ................................................................. 8
10 AWARD OF PROJECT AGREEMENT ................................................................ 9
11 TIMETABLE ............................................................................................... 9
12 COMPLIANCE WITH LEGISLATION ............................................................... 11
13 LEGAL NOTICES ....................................................................................... 11
14 INSURANCE ............................................................................................. 12
15 RIGHT TO REJECT/DISQUALIFY .................................................................. 12
16 RIGHT TO CANCEL OR VARY THE PROCESS .................................................. 12
17 CONFIDENTIALITY .................................................................................... 13
18 TENDER COSTS AND RISK ......................................................................... 14
19 AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION/DUE DILIGENCE ......................................... 14
20 QUESTIONS ............................................................................................. 14
21 BIDDER TEAMS & CONTACT POINTS ........................................................... 14
22 PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS.................................................................... 15
23 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS ..................................................................... 15
24 TENDER RESPONSES ................................................................................. 15
25 DISCLAIMERS .......................................................................................... 15
26 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ...................................................................... 16
27 DATA PROTECTION ACT ............................................................................. 16
28 CERTIFICATES .......................................................................................... 17
29 COLLUSION ............................................................................................. 17
30 CANVASSING ........................................................................................... 18
31 PUBLICITY ............................................................................................... 18
32 WELSH LANGUAGE.................................................................................... 18
33 SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 18
APPENDICES
1 EVALUATION CRITERIA ............................................................................. 20
2 FORM OF TENDER ..................................................................................... 33
3 PROJECT AGREEMENT ............................................................................... 37
4 PROJECT AGREEMENT VARIATIONS ............................................................ 38
5 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ....................................................................... 39
6 VARIATION AND BENCHMARKING OF WHOLESALE PRICES ............................ 41
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1. PREFACE
1.1 This document is published by the Welsh Assembly Government (“the
Government”) to those organisations (“Bidders”) who are to receive an
Invitation to Submit Final Tender (“ISFT”) following participation in the dialogue
stage of the procurement process for FibreSpeed – Open Access Networks for
Wales.
1.2 It should be noted that information given to the Government as part of the
Bidders response to the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (“PQQ”), Invitation to
Participate in Competitive Dialogue (“IPD”) and during the dialogue procedure
will still be subjected to verification by the Government during this stage of the
procurement process.
1.3 Any material error, omission or misrepresentation on the part of Bidders may
result in their disqualification from participating in the procurement process no
matter what stage in the process has been reached when the error, omission or
misrepresentation is discovered.
1.4 The Government will be conducting this Procurement exercise through the Bravo
Solutions e-Tendering portal (the “Portal”). This can be found at
www.wpi.bravosolution.com.
1.5 All information made available to Bidders can be downloaded and
responses as part of this procurement procedure must be returned
through this channel.
1.6 If you require any further assistance the Bravo Solutions help desk is available
Mon – Fri 8am – 6pm on:
Email address: help@bravosolution.co.uk
Phone: 0800 011 2470 / Fax: 020 7080 0480
2. NOTIFICATION FOR INVITATION TO SUBMIT FINAL TENDER
2.1 All Bidders were notified simultaneously on 27th April 2007 via the secure
messaging area of the Portal that the dialogue phase was to be concluded on 4th
May 2007. The Bidders are now being invited to submit a final tender.
3. PREPARATION OF ISFT
3.1 This ISFT and its attachments have been prepared by the Government and its
advisers. All reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the facts stated or
referred to in the ISFT are true and accurate in all material respects at the time
of issue. However, neither the Government nor any of its advisers accept any
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responsibility for the information contained in this ISFT and associated
documents or for its fairness, accuracy, adequacy or completeness, and no
warranty, express or implied, is given. Nor shall any of them be liable for any
loss or damage (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) arising as
a result of reliance on such information or any subsequent communication. Any
Bidder considering making a decision to enter into a binding relationship with the
Government on the basis of the information provided in this ISFT should make
their own investigations and form their own opinion as to the Government and
the Project described in this ISFT.
3.2 Only the express terms of any written contract relating to the subject matter of
the ISFT, as and when it is executed, shall have any contractual effect in
connection with the matters to which it relates. Any such contract will be
governed by the laws of Wales and England and the exclusive jurisdiction of the
courts in Wales and England.
4. COPYRIGHT
4.1 Bidders are reminded that the ownership of the copyright in this ISFT and its
attachments belongs to the Government. Except as necessary in relation to the
preparation and discussion of their solutions or a tender, Bidders shall not
reproduce in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any
medium by electronic means) any of this ISFT without written permission of the
Government other than for use strictly for the purpose of preparing a Tender.
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PART A – INTRODUCTION
5. INTRODUCTION
5.1 The Government has now entered the final tender stage for the procurement of
“FibreSpeed – Open Access Networks for Wales (“FibreSpeed” or the “Project”)
following the conclusion of the dialogue stage of the process.
5.2 This notice of an ISFT is published in accordance with Regulation 18 of the Public
Contract Regulations 2006 (the “Regulations”).
5.3 This ISFT is issued in accordance with the requirements as specified within the
“FibreSpeed” Contract Notice (Contract No. 144/2006), published in the
supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union TED publication
(Tenders Electronic Daily), Reference No. 163480-2006 dated 9th August 2006.
5.4 All documents relating to this ISFT are available in an electronic format at the
Bravo Solutions e-tendering portal at www.wpi.bravosolution.com
5.5 All queries in respect of this ISFT must also be sent using the messaging function
within the portal. Responses will be provided through the same means, and
where appropriate details will be distributed to other Bidders. Further details are
outlined at Paragraph 20 of this document. Bidders should also note Paragraph
17 in relation to the submission of queries.
5.6 The timetable in respect of the final tender stage is detailed within Paragraph 11
of this document. Whilst every effort will be made by the Government to adhere
to the proposed timetable, it may be necessary to make amendments to the
timing of certain activities and the Government reserves the right to do so. In
the event that such amendments are made, then Bidders will be notified with as
much advance notice as possible via the Portal. However it should be noted
that the Government are now working along a critical path towards
contract award, and has a strong preference to adhere to the timetable
insofar as is practicable.
5.7 The Welsh Ministers are the Contracting Authority for the purposes of this
procurement.
5.8 As part of the dialogue stage the Government issued a term sheet (the “Term
Sheet”) setting out the base contractual terms for FibreSpeed. The Term Sheet
has been converted into a base contract which has been further dialogued with
each Bidder during the dialogue stage. The resulting contract for each Bidder and
its schedules are attached at Appendix 3 (the “Project Agreement”).
5.9 All documents issued with this ISFT form part of the ISFT and should be read in
conjunction with each other.
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6. PROJECT BACKGROUND
6.1 FibreSpeed – Open Access Networks for Wales ‘FibreSpeed’ forms a key part of
the Broadband Wales Programme within the Welsh Assembly Government
Department for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks. The programme was
launched in July 2002 as a strategic 5-year initiative to deliver a range of
projects that will equip Wales with a robust and affordable telecommunications
infrastructure, capable of supporting its forward looking economic objectives.
6.2 FibreSpeed will provide a platform for the delivery of world-class advanced
broadband services through the delivery of an open access network, and will
comprise both local access networks at the target locations, a backbone network
interconnecting these locations to other telecoms networks and points of
presence distributed across the network. Bidders are referred to the Project
Briefing Document issued with the IPD which is available in the Data Room for
further background information on the Project.
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PART B – INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
7. CONTENT OF TENDERS
7.1 Bidders must submit the following in their submission responding to this ISFT
(the “Tender”):
7.1.1 one completed Form of Tender (Appendix 2);
7.1.2 completed Compliancy Matrix at Schedule 1 of the Project Agreement;
7.1.3 completed Schedules 2 – 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22 and 24 to the
Project Agreement which are annexed at Appendix 3 to this ISFT;
7.1.4 completed Project Agreement variation form (Appendix 4);
7.1.5 any supporting documentation included on the list set out in Appendix
5 (“Supporting Documentation”);
7.2 Bidders are required to submit the information in the order of the specified
sections in Schedules 1 – 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22 and 24 to the Project
Agreement to assist the evaluation team in the evaluation process. This is so
that all of the information is readily accessible to the evaluation team and none
is overlooked. Please note however that the information submitted will be
evaluated against all relevant criteria as specified in Appendix 1 to determine the
most economically advantageous Tender.
7.3 Provide the name, address, telephone, fax and email addresses of the contact
person for this Project and details of their level of responsibility and authority to
commit the Bidder to a course of action is required.
7.4 Your full business/name and main office address must also be provided on all
documents. This should be the registered name and address in the case of
companies.
8. RETURN OF TENDERS
8.1 All responses to this ISFT should be sent via the portal at
www.wpi.bravosolution.com by 17:00hrs Monday 18th June 2007.
8.2 All responses to this ISFT must be sent in the language of English or English and
Welsh. In the event that a response is provided in Welsh, then a copy in English
must also be provided with the Bidder responsible for the translation. In the
event of ambiguity between responses submitted in both Welsh and English the
wording in the English version shall take precedence.
8.3 The Tender must contain a full proposal in order for the Government to evaluate
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it against the published criteria.
8.4 The Regulations which apply to the tender procedure provide that Tenders must
be on the basis of solutions which have been presented and specified during the
dialogue.
8.5 Failure to fully complete the documents, provide all the information required or
meet the above requirements for setting out the information may result in the
Tender not being considered by the Government.
9. AWARD CRITERIA AND PROCESS
9.1 The Tender submission must be in relation to the solution which was discussed
and developed with the Government and its advisors during the dialogue.
9.2 The Tender submissions will be evaluated to determine the most economically
advantageous tender against the evaluation criteria set out in Appendix 1.
9.3 Any material issues should have been raised during the competitive dialogue
procedure and should not be raised in your Tender submission. The Tender must
contain as much detail as possible in relation to your Tender as set out in this
ISFT.
9.4 Bidders and their teams should be on standby to answer any questions or for
any meetings requested by the Government to clarify, specify or fine-tune their
Tender between Wednesday 20th June 2007 and Wednesday 27th June 2007.
9.5 Bidders are required to complete the Compliancy Matrix set out in Schedule 1
(Key Requirements) to Appendix 3 clearly indicating where in their Tenders the
relevant requirements of the Compliancy Matrix are satisfied. The Government
shall as a first phase of evaluation consider Bidders’ Tenders against the
Compliancy Matrix. The Government reserves the right to reject any Tender
which does not satisfy the Compliancy Matrix.
9.6 The Government intends to evaluate variations to each Bidder’s Project
Agreement set out at Appendix 3 against the base draft project agreement
issued to Bidders on 28th March 2007. The Government also intends to evaluate
changes proposed through the Project Agreement Variation mechanism set out
in Appendix 4. Any variations whether proposed in the dialogue phase or through
the Project Agreement Variation mechanism will be assessed against the
relevant evaluation criteria set out in Appendix 1 with scores being allocated to
the appropriate evaluation category.
9.7 The Government intends to evaluate any Supporting Documentation (see
Paragraph 7.1.4 and Appendix 5) submitted by Bidders. Supporting
Documentation will be assessed against the evaluation criteria set out in
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Appendix 1 with scores being allocated to the appropriate evaluation category.
9.8 The Government wrote to Bidders on 17th April 2007 informing them that the
maximum total ERDF and Government core funds that are available for the
period from 1st April 2007 to 31st March 2009 is £25,000,000 (Twenty Five
Million Pounds Sterling). Bidders are encouraged to submit Tenders which are
below this affordability threshold and the Government reserves the right to
reject any Tender which exceeds this threshold.
10. AWARD OF PROJECT AGREEMENT
10.1 The Government may proceed to award of Project Agreement on the basis of the
Project Agreement incorporated in this ISFT (as amended through the Project
Agreement Variation mechanism in Appendix 4 and any clarifications) and the
most economically advantageous Tender response. In accordance with Appendix
4, only variations which are in the Government’s favour may be proposed as part
of a Bidder’s Tender.
10.2 Any award will be conditional on it being approved in accordance with the
Government’s internal administrative and financial approval procedures and the
Government being generally able to proceed.
10.3 Any award will be contingent on the satisfactory completion of a “standstill
period” of at least 10 calendar days in accordance with Regulation 32 of the
Regulations.
10.4 Bidders should note that the Competitive Dialogue procedure does not permit
any negotiation and Bidders should take account of this although the Authority
reserves the right to clarify, specify and fine tune as appropriate.
10.5 Acceptance by the successful Bidder shall be deemed to have occurred when the
Government posts formal notice of Project Agreement award to the successful
Bidder. The Government anticipates being able to award the Project Agreement
around 20th July 2007.
11. TIMETABLE
11.1 The timetable outlined below show the key tasks, milestones and deliverables
required to be met as part of this final tender process. Whilst the Government
intends to keep to these dates as far as is possible it reserves the right
to amend these dates at any time.
11.2 The Government are now working along a critical path as part of this final tender
process and Bidders should also ensure they are aware of the dates where key
deliverables are required. Bidders are reminded of the Government’s right to
reject/disqualify as set out in Paragraph 15.
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Activity Date
STAGE 1 – Close of Competitive Dialogue
Competitive Dialogue Closes to all Bidders Friday 4th May 2007
STAGE 2 – Invitation to Submit Final
Tender Stage
Invitation to Submit Final Tender issued to
Bidders
Thursday 17th May 2007
Deadline for Receipt of Final Tenders 17:00hrs – Monday 18th June
2007
ISFT Stage Closes Monday 18th June 2007
STAGE 3 – ISFT Evaluation
Final Tender Evaluation Starts Monday 18th June 2007
Tender Clarification Meetings (if required) Wednesday 20th June 2007 –
Wednesday 27th June 2007
Final Tender Evaluation Ends Wednesday 4th July 2007
STAGE 4 – Bidder Selection &
Clarifications
Selected Bidder Notification Wednesday 4th July 2007
Project Agreement Award Standstill Notice
Issued
Wednesday 4th July 2007
Meetings to clarify and confirm commitments
(if required)
Thursday 5th June 2007 –
Thursday 19th July 2007
STAGE 5 – Project Agreement Award
Announcement of Selected Bidder and Project
Agreement Award
Friday 20th July 2007
STAGE 6 – Project Implementation
Commences
Friday 20th July 2007
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12. COMPLIANCE WITH LEGISLATION
State Aid
12.1 On 22nd February 2006 the European Commission endorsed the FibreSpeed
project Phase 1. The final decision letter is provided within the Data Room (the
“Decision Letter”). Bidders must ensure that their Tenders fully comply with
the requirements of the Decision Letter and the Government reserves the right
to disqualify any Bidder whose Tender does not comply with the requirements of
the Decision Letter. Additional Phases will require European Commission
approval for State Aid purposes and any additional sites for Phase 1 will also be
notified for approval for State Aid.
12.2 Bidders should also note that in order to comply with the European Commission’s
approval of Phase 1, it will be necessary to ensure that public funding for the
project as against total project costs is at the ISFT stage kept to the minimum
amount necessary to achieve the project objectives. As such, short-listed Bidders
will be required to provide with their tender proposal full details of private sector
funding which they propose to apply to the likely total projects costs. The
evaluation process in terms of each Bidder’s proposal will take into account the
level of private sector funding proposed to be leveraged into the project.
Regulatory
12.3 Bidders should ensure that they are compliant with the regulatory regime set out
in the Communications Act 2003, including in particular the “General Conditions”
and must satisfy themselves that they hold all necessary licences and consents.
General
12.4 Compliance with all relevant legislation is required both in the Project Agreement
award procedure and during the term of any resultant contract.
13. LEGAL NOTICES
Security
13.1 Where necessary and feasible, Bidders may be given access to Government staff
in order to obtain information, but such access will be provided solely at the
Government’s discretion.
13.2 Where the successful Bidder (if any) requires for its personnel, frequent and
uncontrolled access to the premises of the Government, or where such personnel
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have access to restricted information, or proximity to public figures, then all such
personnel must satisfy the security requirements of the Government by
completing a security questionnaire. No Bidder personnel will be issued security
passes until they have obtained the required security clearance. Until then, they
will be issued with a temporary pass and will have to be escorted by a member
of staff each and every time they have access to the premises.
14. INSURANCE
14.1 The Government intends to evaluate the appropriateness of the insurance cover
proposed by Bidders and will require evidence of insurance from the Preferred
Bidder.
15. RIGHT TO REJECT/DISQUALIFY
15.1 The Government reserves the right to reject or disqualify a candidate and/or its
related providers being those referred to in part A6 of the Bidders response to
PQQ (“the Relevant Organisations”) for reasons including but not limited to:
15.1.1 The responses to the requirements of the ISFT are submitted late, are
completed incorrectly, are incomplete or fails to meet the
Government’s other submission requirements which have been notified
to Bidders
15.1.2 The Bidder and/or its Relevant Organisations are, at any stage during
the selection and evaluation process, unable to satisfy the terms in
Form 1 – Statement of Good Standing signed by the Bidder and its
Relevant Organisations and submitted as part of the PQQ
15.1.3 The Bidder and/or its Relevant Organisations are guilty of serious
misrepresentation in relation to its application and/or the process
15.1.4 There is a change in identity, control, financial standing or other factor
impacting on the selection and/or evaluation process affecting the
Bidder and/or its Relevant Organisations and/or its supply chain
partners.
16. RIGHT TO CANCEL OR VARY THE PROCESS
16.1 The Government reserves the right to:
16.1.1 Cancel the selection and evaluation process at any stage of this
procurement
16.1.2 Require a Bidder and/or its Relevant Organisations to clarify their
submission in writing and/or provide additional information. (Failure to
respond adequately may result in a Bidder being deselected)
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16.1.3 Vary the timetable for the tendering procedures.
17. CONFIDENTIALITY
17.1 By receiving this ISFT, you agree to keep confidential any information contained
in it or sent with it or made available in connection with any further enquiries
about its subject matter (the “Information”). The Information may be made
available to a Bidder’s consortium members, employees and professional
advisers and/or financiers who are directly involved in the appraisal of such
Information and have each given an undertaking to keep such Information
confidential and not to, either in whole or in part, copy, reproduce, distribute or
otherwise make the Information available to any other parties in any
circumstances without the prior consent of the Government nor may it be used
for any purpose other than that for which it is intended. These requirements do
not apply to any Information which is or becomes publicly available or is shown
to have been properly obtained from a third party (in each case otherwise than
through a breach of confidentiality obligation).
17.2 All documentation supplied by the Government in relation to the ISFT is and
shall remain the property of the Government and must be returned upon
demand. Return postage will be refunded upon request.
17.3 The Government may disclose information relating to Bidders’ submissions to the
Government’s members, directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers and
the Government may make the key Project documents available for private
inspection by the Government’s members, directors, officers, employees, agents
or advisers.
17.4 The Government acknowledges that organisations engaged in the ISFT may have
concerns regarding the confidentiality of the ideas and solutions provided by
organisations and whether the commercial information which Bidders disclose
and technical and other solutions will be disclosed by the Government to other
Bidders. In this regard, the Government will ensure equality of treatment
amongst all Bidders and will not provide information in a discriminatory manner
which may give some Bidders an advantage over others.
17.5 Where a request for additional information is made by a Bidder and, in the
opinion of the Government, such information would be likely to be of material
interest to other Bidders, it shall be made available to all Bidders subject to any
duty of the Government to protect the commercial confidentiality of the Bidder
originally seeking the information. If Bidders do not want responses to individual
enquiries to be notified to all Bidders the relevant enquiry should be clearly
marked as commercially confidential. The Government will decide whether any
response to the enquiry would, for reasons of equal availability of information,
need to be notified to all Bidders. If this is the case, the Government will ask the
VERSION 1.0
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Bidder whether they wish to retract the enquiry. If the Bidder wishes to retract
the enquiry then the Government will not disclose the information to any Bidder
unless it receives a subsequent enquiry on the same point from a different
Bidder and that Bidder is content for the information to be made available to all
Bidders.
18. TENDER COSTS AND RISK
18.1 The Government reserves the right not to follow up this ISFT in any way and/or
to withdraw from the tender process at any time.
18.2 The Government will not be liable for any Tender costs, expenditure, work or
effort incurred by a Bidder in proceeding with or participating in this
procurement, including if the procurement process is terminated or amended by
the Government.
18.3 Unless and until a formal and unconditional Agreement has been signed, all
correspondence and discussions between the Government and each Bidder
responding to the ISFT will be “subject to contract”.
18.4 The Government may terminate discussions with any Bidder at any time.
19. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION/DUE DILIGENCE
19.1 Where the Government makes documents and information available to Bidders
in order to facilitate the tender process, it will notify Bidders of the arrangements
and conditions of such availability. Requests for information must be made via
the e-Tendering portal.
20. QUESTIONS
20.1 Bidders should direct any questions in relation to this ISFT through the e-
Tendering portal before 17:00hrs Wednesday 13th June 2007. The
Government may at its discretion respond to questions received after this date
however Bidders should endeavour to submit any questions in a timely manner
in advance of Wednesday 13th June 2007. Bidders are referred Paragraph 17 in
relation to confidentiality of any such questions.
21. BIDDER TEAMS & CONTACT POINTS
21.1 All contacts with the Government concerning this Project must in the first
instance be directed through the e-Tendering portal –
www.wpi.bravosolution.com.
21.2 The Government places particular importance on ensuring that the tender
process is conducted in an orderly manner and Bidders must refrain from making
direct contact with other employees or advisers of the Government without prior
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permission.
21.3 Bidders are expected to ensure that consortium members or sub-contractors are
given necessary information in relation to their roles within a Bidder’s solution
and where Bidders respond to the Government as part of the tender process,
such responses must be given in relation to all such members or sub-
contractors.
22. PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS
22.1 Bidders must obtain for themselves, at their own responsibility and expense, all
information necessary for the preparation of their response to this ISFT. Bidders
are required to complete and provide all information required by the Government
in accordance with the conditions and other instructions notified by the
Government. Failure to comply with these conditions may lead the Government
to reject a submission unless omissions have been previously agreed by the
Government in writing.
23. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS
23.1 Formal pricing proposals unless otherwise advised must be submitted on the
basis that the financial detail they contain is valid for a minimum period of eight
months from the date fixed for their submission.
24. TENDER RESPONSES
24.1 Bidders will note the Government’s intention is, subject to receipt of acceptable
responses to this ISFT, to award a contract to a successful Bidder. The
Government may notify the successful Bidder of the basis on which their tender
has been accepted further to its terms and may withdraw a notification of
success from a Bidder who resiles from or alters its position on any such terms.
25. DISCLAIMERS
25.1 The Government reserves the right to:
25.1.1 waive any requirements of this procurement process (to the extent
permitted by law);
25.1.2 disqualify any Bidder that does not submit a compliant response in
accordance with the instructions in this document;
25.1.3 withdraw this document or procurement process at any time or to re-
invite responses on the same or any alternative basis;
25.1.4 not award any contract as a result of the current procurement process;
or
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25.1.5 to make whatever changes it sees fit to the timetable, structure or
content of the procurement process, dependent on approvals processes
or for any other reason.
26. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
26.1 The Government is required to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(the “Act”) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”) which
impose on it a duty to respond to a request for information, and, subject to the
provisions of the Act and EIR, to disclose that information. If you consider that
any of the information to be submitted in your tender, should not be disclosed
because of its commercial sensitivity then this should be stated together with the
reason for considering it sensitive. The Government will then consult with you in
considering any request under the Act or under EIR relating to that information.
26.2 If, information submitted through this tender process is considered commercially
sensitive by the Relevant Organisation then details regarding such information
and the reasons why it is considered commercially sensitive should be outlined in
your tender.
27. DATA PROTECTION ACT
27.1 In this Clause the term Personal Data has the same meaning given in the Data
Protection Act 1998 (“the 1998 Act”) and “processed” and “process” shall be
construed in accordance with the 1998 Act.
27.2 The Bidder shall comply with the 1998 Act and any other applicable data
protection legislation. In particular the Bidder agrees to comply with the
obligations placed on the Government by the seventh data protection principle
(“the Seventh Principle”) set out in the 1998 Act, namely:
27.2.1 to maintain technical and organisational security measures sufficient to
comply at least with the obligations imposed on the Government by
the Seventh Principle;
27.2.2 only to process Personal Data for and on behalf of the Government, in
accordance with the instructions of the Government and for the
purpose of performing its obligations under the Project Agreement and
to ensure compliance with the 1998 Act;
27.2.3 to allow the Government to audit the Bidder’s compliance with the
requirements of this Condition on reasonable notice and/or to provide
the Government with evidence of its compliance with the obligations
set out in this Condition.
27.3 The Bidder agrees to indemnify and keep indemnified the Government against all
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claims and proceedings and all liability, loss, costs and expenses incurred in
connection therewith by the Government as a result of any claim made or
brought by any individual or other legal person in respect of any loss, damage or
distress caused to that individual or other legal person as a result of the Bidder’s
unauthorised processing, unlawful processing, destruction of and/or damage to
any Personal Data processed by the Bidder, its employees or agents in the
Bidder’s actions in relation to this ISFT.
27.4 Both Parties agree to use all reasonable efforts to assist each other to comply
with the 1998 Act. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the Bidder providing
the Government with reasonable assistance in complying with subject access
requests served on the Government under Section 7 of the 1998 Act and the
Bidder consulting with the Government prior to the disclosure by the Bidder of
any Personal Data in relation to such requests.
28. CERTIFICATES
28.1 Bidders are reminded that the Statement relating to Good Standing and
Declaration provided at the PQQ stage remain in effect and continue to apply and
that Bidders must inform the Government at once of any change in
circumstances which affects these certificates.
29. COLLUSION
29.1 Any Bidder who at any time prior to formal execution of a contractual agreement
relating to the Project (“Agreement”):
29.1.1 fixes or adjusts the amount of a pricing proposal or Tender by or in
accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any person or
company; or
29.1.2 communicates to any person or company other than another member
of the consortium of which the Bidder forms part, or to the
Government, the amount or approximate amount of a Tender (except
where such disclosure is made in confidence in order to obtain
quotations necessary for the preparation of the Tender or for
insurance); or
29.1.3 enters into any agreement or arrangement with any other person or
company that it shall refrain from Tendering or as to the amount of
any Tender to be submitted; or offers or agrees to pay or give or does
pay or give any sum of money, inducement or valuable consideration
directly or indirectly to any person or company for doing or having
done or causing or having caused to be done in relation to this Tender
or any other Tender, any acts or omissions;
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may (without prejudice to any other civil remedies available to the
Government and without prejudice to any criminal or other liability
which such conduct by a Bidder may attract) be disqualified.
30. CANVASSING
30.1 Any Bidder who directly or indirectly canvasses any member or official of the
Government or the Government’s legal or other advisers, concerning the award
of the Agreement, or offers any inducements or engages in any corrupt practices
involving members or officials of the Government or the Government’s advisers,
may be disqualified.
31. PUBLICITY
31.1 Bidders shall not permit or undertake any publicity activity or make any
announcement referring to the Project without the prior consent in writing of the
Government.
32. WELSH LANGUAGE
32.1 The Bidders must take into account the Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Welsh
Assembly Government’s Welsh Language Scheme.
33. SUMMARY
33.1 Further to this ISFT, the Government looks forward to receiving your tenders in
accordance with this ISFT and within the timetable specified.
Head of FibreSpeed Projects
e-Wales, Welsh Assembly Government
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PART C – APPENDICES
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APPENDIX 1
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Bidders are referred to Paragraphs 9, 10, 12 and 14 of the ISFT for further instructions in
relation to the evaluation criteria. All criteria will be evaluated in accordance with the
classification below and the relevant weightings will be applied (see example below).
CRITERIA WEIGHTING
Quality of Financial Proposal(*) 25%
Quality of Operational Plan 25%
Quality of Partnership Proposal 20%
Quality of Technical Proposal 15%
Deliverability of Implementation/Roll-out Schedule 15%
Total 100%
SCORE CLASSIFICATION
0 Unacceptable
1 Poor – below expectations
2 Slightly below expectations
3 Satisfactory – meets expectations
4 Good – above expectations
5 Very Good
(*) In assessing the Quality of the Financial Proposal the following financial elements
will be evaluated comparatively with those from other Bidders:
contribution to capital expenditure required from the Government;
the operational cost support required from the Government;
the level of reverse payment back to the Government;
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the management and apportionment of planning and construction risk;
the cost to the Government of the Reduced Financial Business Plan;
the level of Bidder investment commitment bid including revenue
underpinning;
others as appropriate.
In performing the comparative evaluation of bids, for each element, those bids
indicating a more favourable outcome for the Government, broadly minimising
cost, optimising risk allocation and maximising reverse payments, will obtain a
higher percentage of the available marks for the comparative element of the
evaluation.
In each case where a comparative evaluation is undertaken the outcome of the
comparative valuation will be considered along with the qualitative elements of
that element and a score between 0 and 5 will be assigned to that element of the
bid.
Worked Example:
Area
Score
(out of
5)
Sub-
Weight
Adjusted
Maximum
Score
Relevant
Schedules
Deliverability of Implementation/
Roll-out Schedule
15.0%
Bidders will be evaluated on:
The ability to meet the timing
conditions associated with the
ERDF funding 4 40%
4.8%
[out of
max 6%]
Schedule 4 –
Programme Of
Works
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Area
Score
(out of 5)
Sub-Weight Adjusted
Maximum Score
Relevant Schedules
1. Quality of Financial Proposal 25.0%
Bidders will be evaluated on the attractiveness of their financial case, covering:
1.1 The overall Tender price and
strength of the Tender taking
account of the overall cost of the
project to the Government under a
range of scenarios and analysis of
the underlying components of that
cost including contributions to
capital expenditure, operational
expenditure and receipts through
the reverse payment mechanism to
assist with the comparison of
Tenders.
Along with the qualitative scored
evaluation this will include a
comparative evaluation of the
elements highlighted above in
relation to the cost of Tenders to
30% 7.5%
Schedule 5 – Pricing &
Payment
Schedule 11 – Business
Development Plan
Schedule 12 – Price
Book
Schedule 15 – Reverse
Payment Regime
Schedule 24 –
Performance Bond
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the Government.
1.2 Strength of the investment proposal
to include commitment to proposed
investment package by the Bidder,
the quantum of investment, the
level of risk in that investment, the
required return on that investment
and levels of revenue underpinning
given
Along with the qualitative scored
evaluation this will include a
comparative evaluation of the
elements highlighted above in
relation to the Bidders’ investment
proposals
25% 6.25%
Schedule 5 – Pricing &
Payment
1.3 Risk apportionment – an
assessment of the appropriateness
of the legal and commercial risk
apportionment between the
Government and the Bidder
including arising from:
1.3.1 the commercial and
financial value for the
Government of the
20% 5%
Schedule 5 – Pricing &
Payment
Schedule 11 – Business
Development Plan
Schedule 15 – Reverse
Payment Regime
Schedule 16 –
Government
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Performance Bond;
1.3.2 the Government
Responsibilities stated by
the Bidders;
1.3.3 the clauses of the Project
Agreement dealing with
limitations and exclusions
of liability of the parties;
1.3.4 the robustness of the
Guarantee given in the
Project Agreement;
1.3.5 the extent of the
insurance obligations
offered by the Bidders;
and
1.3.6 any costs imposed on the
Government as a result of
requested WPO not being
proceeded with;
1.3.7 any costs or risks borne
by the Government as a
result of any difficulty or
impossibility of obtaining
requisite Infrastructure
Responsibilities
Schedule 19 –
Insurance Provisions
Schedule 24 –
Performance Bond
Schedule 25 –
Guarantee by the
Guarantor
(and the other relevant
clauses of the Project
Agreement)
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Rights;
1.3.8 the Government’s right to
continue to use the built
network beyond the Term
of the Project Agreement,
including the extent to
which such right is
transferable, royalty free
and perpetual in nature.
1.3.9 the robustness and
appropriateness of the
Reduced Financial
Business Plan; and its
associated termination
provisions and costs
proposed.
Along with the qualitative scored
evaluation this will include a
comparative evaluation of the cost
to the Government of the Reduced
Financial Business Plan proposed by
Bidders
1.4 Affordability including delivery of a
Tender within the affordability
constraints previously
15% 3.75%
Schedule 5 – Pricing &
Payment
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communicated to Bidders Schedule 11 – Business
Development Plan
Schedule 15 – Reverse
Payment Regime
Schedule 24 –
Performance Bond
1.5 Financial consistency including
consistency of the financial
projections with the Tender
documentation and with modelling
best practice 10% 2.5%
Schedule 5 – Pricing &
Payment
Schedule 11 – Business
Development Plan
Schedule 15 – Reverse
Payment Regime
Schedule 24 –
Performance Bond
2. Quality of Operational Plan 25.0%
Bidders will be evaluated on:
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2.1 The products/services being
proposed and how they meet the
Government’s strategic
requirements, covering the
wholesale product/service set,
wholesale pricing, SLAs and other
terms and conditions
20% 5%
Schedule 7 – The
Services/ Service Levels
Schedule 8 – Wholesale
Prices
Schedule 9 – Terms and
Conditions for Services
Appendix 5 (Clause 5.9)
2.2 The reasonableness of all input
assumptions in their business plan
which impact revenues, opex and
capex (for both the Base Case
Business Plan and the Reduced
Financial Business Plan); the
transparency, comprehensiveness
and usefulness to the Government
of the Price Book
20% 5%
Schedule 5- Payment
and Pricing
Schedule 12 – Price
Book
2.3 The evidence provided
demonstrating the Bidder’s
understanding of and experience in
running an “end to end” wholesale
or similar operation over an
extended period of time. This is to
cover all parties within the Bidder’s
delivery team – i.e. partners and
20% 5%
Schedule 11 – Business
Development Plan
Schedule 18 –
Permitted
Subcontractors
Appendix 5 (Clauses 5.7
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key subcontractors and 5.8)
2.4 The proposed approach to sales and
marketing, development of the
product/service set over time, and
the proposed customer support and
retention plan
20% 5% Schedule 11 – Business
Development Plan
2.5 The evidence provided to support
the assumptions in their business
plan which are directly relevant to
the FibreSpeed business case (e.g.
letters of intent or similar from
service providers, benchmarking
data from the Bidder’s experience in
other similar markets)
15% 3.75% Appendix 5 (Clause 5.1)
2.6 The proposed approach to
monitoring overall performance of
FibreSpeed as a business (through
KPI reporting) and how this will be
used to deliver change when
required
5% 1.25% Appendix 5 (Clause 5.2)
3. Quality of Partnership Proposal 20.0%
Bidders will be evaluated on:
3.1 Demonstration of a good 25% 5% Appendix 5 (Clause 5.4)
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understanding of strategic
importance of FibreSpeed and vision
for FibreSpeed in the near, mid and
long term (this can be an updated
version of the Vision statement as
already submitted by Bidders earlier
in the procurement)
3.2 Evidence of the consideration given
to the wider developmental aspects
supported by FibreSpeed
25% 5% Appendix 5 (Clause 5.3)
3.3 The submission of detailed CV’s and
evidence of the track record and
performance for each of the Key
Contract Personnel who will form
part of the management and
operational team of FibreSpeed
25% 5%
Schedule 22 – Contact
Details
Appendix 5 (Clause 5.5)
3.4 The proposal for establishing the
expected delivery structure,
including the relative participation
of the members of the delivery
vehicle; and the proposal for the
corporate governance structure
pursuant to the Project Agreement
(Project & Programme
Management; Project Board) and
how it sees the Project Board
15% 3% Appendix 5 (Clauses 5.6
and 5.10)
VERSION 1.0
17/05/2007
working with the Government’s own
governance arrangements
3.5 The Bidders requirements of the
Government (Tenders that require
less from the Government will be
scored more favourably)
10% 2%
Schedule 16 –
Government
Requirements
4. Quality of Technical Proposal 15.0%
Bidders will be evaluated on:
4.1 Overall suitability of approach to the
design and build of the network
covering all passive and active
components required for full service
delivery, including local access,
backbone and interconnection
networks
25% 3.75%
Schedule 2 – Network
Design & Specification
Schedule 3 – Network &
Customer Management
Systems
4.2 Overall approach to the
management, operations and
maintenance of the network
covering all passive and active
components required for full service
delivery, including local access,
backbone and interconnection
networks
25% 3.75%
Schedule 2 – Network
Design & Specification
Schedule 3 – Network &
Customer Management
Systems
VERSION 1.0
17/05/2007
4.3 Ability of the network to delivery
the minimum product set and be
flexible and scaleable to support the
creation and delivery of new
products in the future
25% 3.75%
Schedule 2 – Network
Design & Specification
Schedule 3 – Network & Customer Management
Systems
4.4 Robustness and appropriateness of
the Acceptance Testing process to
be used to demonstrate when Build
and Service Availability Milestones
have been successfully achieved in
accordance with the proposed
Network Design & Specification
10% 1.5% Schedule 6 –
Acceptance
4.5 Design and operational
considerations given to the future
incorporation of additional strategic
sites into the FibreSpeed network
(through the WPO mechanism)
10% 1.5%
Schedule 2 – Network
Design & Specification
Schedule 3 – Network &
Customer Management
Systems
4.6 Innovations that add value to the
FibreSpeed network
5% 0.75%
Schedule 2 – Network
Design & Specification
Schedule 3 – Network &
Customer Management
Systems
5. Deliverability of 15.0%
VERSION 1.0
17/05/2007
Implementation/ Roll-out
Schedule
Bidders will be evaluated on:
5.1 The ability to meet the timing
conditions associated with the ERDF
funding
40% 6% Schedule 4 –
Programme Of Works
5.2 The demonstration of a detailed
approach to planning and execution
for all aspects of the FibreSpeed
implementation, including an
assessment of the reasonableness
of the roll-out schedule, and risk
mitigation including evidence of any
preparatory works undertaken to
mitigate such risks
40% 6% Schedule 4 –
Programme Of Works
5.3 The date of first service availability 20% 3%
Schedule 4 –
Programme of Works
TOTAL 100
APPENDIX 2
FORM OF TENDER
We have examined the ISFT and other documents made available to us and having
satisfied ourselves as to all other matters relevant thereto, we confirm our Tender to
enter into the Project Agreement with the Government.
We enclose our Tender, and confirm that this Tender comprises all of the documents
required to be submitted in accordance with the matters set out in the ISFT.
We confirm that there has been no change of identity, control, financial standing or other
factor affecting our consortium (if any), any Relevant Organisations and supply chain
partners since we returned our PQQ response. In the event the Government awards the
Project Agreement to a consortium its members will become jointly and severally liable
for the full and proper performance of the obligations of the delivery vehicle used to carry
out their obligations under the Project Agreement, whether directly or through the
relevant guarantee provisions in the Project Agreement.
We confirm that we restate and are still able to satisfy the terms set out in “Form 1 –
Statement of Good Standing” and “Form 2 – Declaration” submitted as part of the PQQ
and that we have complied with and will continue to comply with Paragraphs 29
(Collusion) and 30 (Canvassing) to the ISFT.
We confirm that, subject to the following paragraph, all negotiations remain “Subject to
Contract” and that the Government’s selection of us as Preferred Bidder will not
constitute a binding agreement or contract between us until a formal written agreement
or agreements have been executed. We agree that the formal agreement shall comprise
the finalisation and completion of the Project Agreement in the form enclosed with the
ISFT, subject to any amendments proposed in accordance with the mechanism in
Appendix 4 and accepted by the Government and amendments occasioned any
clarifications, together with the completion of other requisite documentation. In the event
of our selection as Preferred Bidder, we agree to complete all necessary steps and
execute all documentation that is agreed following submission of our offer.
We confirm that we agree with the Government in legally binding terms to comply with
the provisions relating to confidentiality set out in Paragraph 17 to the ISFT.
We confirm that our Tender is compliant with the requirements of the Decision Letter
referred to in Paragraph 12 of the ISFT.
We confirm that our Tender is compliant with the regulatory regime set out in the
Communications Act 2003, including in particular the “General Conditions” and that we
hold all necessary licences and consents.
We certify that the information supplied by us to date to the Government is accurate to
the best of our knowledge and that we accept the conditions and undertakings requested
in the ISFT. We confirm that if at any time there are material changes to any of the
information provided we will inform the Government as soon as practicable. We
understand that false information or failing to inform the Government of any material
change could result in our exclusion from tendering for the Project.
We also understand that it is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment, to give or
offer any gift or consideration whatsoever as an inducement or reward to any servant of
a public body.
We also understand that in the event of the Government entering into a contract with us
that our responses to this ISFT will be binding upon us and any misrepresentation may
lead to termination of the contract.
We understand that the Government is not obliged to accept any proposal submitted, or
to enter into a contract with any contractor and that we have no claim on the
Government for any costs, expenditure, work or effort incurred in relation to our Tender
in proceeding with or participating in this procurement, including if the procurement
process is terminated or amended by the Government.
We confirm that we have read thoroughly all documentation issued by or on behalf of the
Government in relation to the Project, and that no representation or warranty, express or
implied, is or will be made or given in relation to the accuracy or the completeness of any
of the information contained in such documentation or otherwise provided by or on behalf
of the Government (in writing or otherwise) to us or our advisers and no responsibility or
liability is or will be accepted by the Government or by any members, officers,
employees, agents or professional advisers in relation to such information. We confirm
that we have not relied upon any information provided by or on behalf of the
Government (in writing or otherwise).
We confirm that we shall not undertake (or permit to be undertaken) at any time,
whether prior to or after any award of the contract, any publicity activity with any section
of the media (including, but without limitation, radio, television, newspapers, trade and
specialist press, the internet and email accessible to the public at large and the
representatives of such media) in relation to the Project other than with the prior written
agreement of the Government.
We confirm that we will at all times treat any information relating to the Project (the
“Information”) as confidential and that we shall not disclose, copy, reproduce, distribute
or pass the Information to any other person at any time or allow any of these things to
happen save where this is done for the sole purpose of allowing the Tender to be
completed and the person receiving the information undertakes in writing to keep the
Information confidential on the same terms as set out in this letter or we obtain the prior
written consent of the Government to such disclosure, distribution or passing of the
Information. We confirm that we shall not use the Information for any purpose other
than the purposes of completing (or deciding whether to complete) the ISFT and other
Project documentation.
We understand that the copyright in this ISFT and all other Project Agreement
documents is vested in the Government and may not be reproduced, copied or stored in
any medium without the prior written consent of the Government. This ISFT and all other
Project documents are and shall remain the property of the Government and must be
returned on demand together with any copies, reproductions or versions howsoever
stored.
We understand that the Government may disclose detailed information relating to the
ISFT to the Government’s members, directors, officers, employees, agents or advisors
and that the Government may make these and other Project documents available for
private inspection by the Government’s members, directors, officers, auditors,
employees, agents or advisors.
We confirm that in submitting our Tender, we have satisfied ourselves as to the accuracy
and completeness of the information we require in order to do so (including that
contained in the ISFT).
Signed ........................................................... Date ...............................
Name ........................................................... Position ...........................
Witnessed ........................................................... Date ...............................
Name ........................................................... Position ...........................
Signed ........................................................... Date ...............................
Name ........................................................... Position ...........................
Witnessed ........................................................... Date ...............................
Name ........................................................... Position ...........................
For and on behalf of:
..................................................................................................................………..
Note to Bidders:
The undertaking should be signed:
(a) where the Bidder is an individual, by that individual;
(b) where the Bidder is a partnership, by two duly authorised partners; and
© in the case of a company, by two directors or a director and the secretary of the
company
(d) in the case of a consortium each consortium member must sign in accordance
with the relevant instruction above. The signature clause should be repeated as
necessary.
All signatures must be witnessed. The submission should be signed by those persons who
will be signing the Project Agreement if the Tender is successful. Please indicate if this is
not the case and provide the names and position of the signatories to the Project
Agreement.
APPENDIX 3
PROJECT AGREEMENT
PLEASE SEE SEPARATE DOCUMENT (APPENDIX 3 – PROJECT AGREEMENT)
SUMMARY OF SCHEDULES TO THE PROJECT AGREEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR
COMPLETION
Schedule Responsibility
1 Key Requirements Compliancy Matrix
Government Bidders
2 Network Design and Specification Bidders
3 Network and Customer Management Systems
Bidders
4 Programme of Works Bidders
5 Pricing and Payment Schedule for Initial Build Obligation
Bidders
6 Acceptance Bidders
7 The Services; Service Levels Bidders
8 Wholesale Prices Bidders
9 Terms and Conditions for Services Bidders
10 Network RTU Government
11 Business Development Plan Bidders
12 Price Book Bidders
13 Pro-forma Design and Specification
Warranty Letter
Government
14 Conditions of Funding Government
15 Reverse Payment Regime Bidders
16 Government Responsibilities Bidders
17 Deed of Grant Government
18 Permitted Subcontractors Bidders
19 Insurance Provisions Bidders
20 Change Control Government
21 Reports Government
22 Contact Details Government/Bidders
23 Reserved Resources Government
24 Performance Bond Bidders
25 Guarantee by the Guarantor Government
APPENDIX 4 PROJECT AGREEMENT VARIATIONS
BIDDERS ARE REMINDED THAT THEY MAY ONLY PROPOSE VARIATIONS TO THE PROJECT AGREEMENT WHICH ARE IN THE AUTHORITY’S FAVOUR.
We confirm that we do not wish to propose any variations to the Project Agreement (please tick) We wish to propose the following variations to the Project Agreement (please tick)
Clause no. Proposed Amendment Rationale
APPENDIX 5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Government intends to evaluate any Supporting Information from the list below submitted by Bidders in accordance with Paragraph 9.7 and Appendix 1 to this ISFT. Save as relevant to the Project Agreement in relation to points 5.2, 5.5, 5.6, 5.9 and 5.10 below, any Supporting Information submitted by Bidders will be submitted on a non binding basis and not form part of the Project Agreement however, Bidders are reminded of their continuing obligations under the Declaration issued with the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire to supply information which is accurate and the Government’s discretion to disqualify any Bidder which provides false information. The Government reserves the right at its entire discretion to reject and not evaluate any information or part of any information submitted which purports to be acceptable Supporting Information from the list below but which the Government considers does not comprise the requisite character of the relevant document.
5.1 Evidence to directly support the FibreSpeed business case financial plan i.e. any letters
of intent or confirmed orders from service providers or other information which directly
supports the revenue projections of the Bidders business case;
5.2 Proposals should be provided which clearly detail how the Bidder intends to undertake
overall monitoring of FibreSpeed’s financial and operational performance over the life of
the contract using the KPI and reporting mechanism;
5.3 Evidence to support wider developmental aspects supported by FibreSpeed which are
aligned to the Government’s economic and strategic objectives for the project and
Wales as a whole;
5.4 Updated Vision statement;
5.5 Detailed CVs and track records for Key Contract Personnel;
5.6 Proposal for the Corporate Governance Structure of FibreSpeed (Project Board) and
demonstrate how the Bidder intends to interface with the Government’s wider
governance requirements;
5.7 Further details of the Bidders current position in relation to contracting arrangements
with subcontractors listed in Schedule 18 e.g. framework in place for call down of
works/goods/services, heads of terms signed etc;
5.8 A clear statement of the roles and responsibilities of all partners and sub contractors
evidencing the bidders ability to deliver the project for the Government on an “end to
end” basis through its full life-cycle i.e. Design & Build, Operations & Maintenance &
Wholesale Sales & Marketing;
5.9 Appendix 6 details the Government’s proposed position in respect of Clause 13 of the
Project Agreement – Variation and Benchmarking of Wholesale Prices. Bidders are
requested as part of their response to comment on the acceptability of the
Government’s proposal and outline any further changes that will improve the position
for the benefit of the Government and the Project as a whole;
5.10 Where relevant, details of the proposed delivery structure including nature of the
intended delivery vehicle, proposed shareholders, directors and proposed guarantor(s).
APPENDIX 6
VARIATION AND BENCHMARKING OF WHOLESALE PRICES
Variation of wholesale prices
FibreSpeed’s wholesale prices can be varied in two ways:
to enable prices to meet the Government’s pricing objectives for the Project; and
through the introduction of time-limited promotions – e.g. to promote take-up in the initial
period following commercial launch, or to stimulate take-up of a new product or service
Non-promotional price changes will be guided by price benchmarking (see below) and agreed by the FibreSpeed Project Board. Promotional prices will also be agreed by the Government through its participation in the Project Board.
Benchmarking of wholesale prices
Wholesale price benchmarking will be undertaken to determine whether FibreSpeed’s prices are similar to those in the benchmark locations (London and the South East of England), and to guide any required price changes.
The benchmarking will cover the minimum product set offered by FibreSpeed. It is anticipated that the benchmarking methodology will consider a range of comparable products from a number of operators in the benchmark locations. It is also anticipated that a ‘basket’ approach will be adopted where possible, i.e. where products exhibit similar characteristics and cost components. In this case, the price benchmark
will establish how the price of FibreSpeed’s basket of products should change rather than each individual price within the basket. There may be several baskets, and these may change over time in response to market developments. Promotions will not be included in the benchmarking but may act as a guide to inform where promotional prices should be set. The benchmarking may consider individual price components, or a combined ‘effective’ price, e.g. relating to total cost of ownership over a pre-determined time period, or equivalent annual cost. Due consideration will be given to certain cost components (e.g. distance dependency) to ensure that the benchmarking is meaningful. It is anticipated that price changes will only be required when the differences between FibreSpeed’s pricing and benchmarks exceeds a specified tolerance of plus or minus [10%]. The period of benchmarking will be as follows:
every 3 months in the first year following the launch of commercial services on the FibreSpeed
network
every 6 months in the second year
annually thereafter.
It is anticipated that an independent expert will undertake the price benchmarking activity who
will make recommendations to the FibreSpeed Project Board for any price changes. The Government acknowledges that prices in the City of London alone may not be representative of prices in other major UK metropolitan areas and this will be taken into account in the benchmarking.
The Government also acknowledges that there will be a trade-off between the benefits of lower prices (potentially higher take-up) and higher prices (potentially higher revenues and hence improved business case). It will be for the Project Board to determine how this trade-off is best managed.
ANNEX 3
CONSIDERATION OF EIR EXCEPTIONS
Regulation 12(4)(b) 1 of the Environmental Information Regulations does not oblige a public authority to release information where the request is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. The Regulation states: 12(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a public authority may refuse to disclose information to the extent that – (b) the request for information is manifestly unreasonable This means that Reg 12(4)(b) can apply if the cost or burden of dealing with a request is too great, as confirmed in the Upper Tribunal case of Craven v The Information Commissioner and the Department of Energy and Climate Change [2012] UKUT442 (AAC): “Taking the position under the EIR first, it must be right that a public authority is entitled to refuse a single extremely burdensome request under regulation 12(4)(b) as “manifestly unreasonable”, purely on the basis that the cost of compliance would be too great (assuming, of course, it is also satisfied that the public interest test favours maintaining the exception). The absence of any provision in the EIR equivalent to section 12 of FOIA makes such a conclusion inescapable.” As explained in my letter to you of 12 July, in response to your request reference ATISN 12439, the Welsh Government does not hold in one place a database listing all amendments made to the original and subsequent contracts, meaning that I would need to review 1200 pages of information to highlight any amendments made and then give consideration as to whether or not that information can be released into the public domain. There are a number of amendments since 2007 I would need to identify and consider. Reviewing the considerable amount of detailed and complex information to determine what amendments have been made and whether or not it can then be placed into the public domain will involve a significant cost and unreasonable diversion of resources from the Division’s other work. The cost of dealing with your request is based on a standard rate of £25.00 per working hour, as set out in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. Based on a Freedom of Information request for the 2007 contract earlier in the year, I have estimated it would take me approximately 40 hours of my time to go through each page, clause by clause, to determine what amendments have been made since the original agreement and undertaking including addition, removal or change of wording and then determine whether the information can be released into the public domain. Additional time would need to be taken to consult with and consider the views of the affected third party on those parts of the contracts. I estimate that liaising with third parties, compiling the information and checking it prior to release would take me a further 15 to 20 hours. Not only would this work take me away from my core work, it would also mean diverting other members of staff away from their current duties in order for me to undertake this task.
1 https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1615/manifestly-unreasonable-requests.pdf
I am therefore refusing your request under Reg12(4)(b) of the EIRs, manifestly unreasonable. In doing so, I have given consideration to the public interest in disclosing the information. The Welsh Government recognises the general public interest in openness and transparency and that releasing the information would help the public gain a better understanding of the requirements placed upon FibreSpeed Ltd. to deliver fibre network capacity to support the connectivity needs of Welsh businesses and the wider public. The Welsh Government also recognises the public has an interest in how their money is to be, or has been, used to ensure Government gets the best value from the public purse. However, the Welsh Government considers the balance of the public interest lies in favour of refusing your request. This is because it is believed your request would place a substantial and unreasonable burden on Welsh Government resources which are already stretched and on balance, it is considered the public interest would be better served deploying our resources in undertaking core work. As part of these considerations we have applied the statutory presumption in favour of disclosure under Reg12(2) of the Regulations but our view remains that the significant burden that this request would impose outweighs the public interest in releasing this information. FibreSpeed helps to ensure a competitive environment for high speed and high capacity fibre network services in the region. Any harm to FibreSpeed would be likely to prejudice this and lead to higher prices for connectivity for businesses, potentially harming their profitability. The Welsh Government is of the view that the amount of information already in the public domain satisfies the public interest in this regard, such as its response to ATISN 11914. Whilst highlighting amendments made in the very complex and detailed information contained in the contracts may be of interest to competitors of FibreSpeed Ltd., I do not believe there is any wider public interest in the Welsh Government expending a significant amount of its stretched resources in order to place such complex and detailed information into the public domain. The public will be assured that the Welsh Government monitors the performance of FibreSpeed Ltd.
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