Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')
As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of access to information held at the time of a request, by a Public Authority (including the Police), subject to certain limitations and exemptions.
You asked:
1. What, if any, bespoke software is used for managing and tracking staff vetting?
2. If bespoke software is used, what was the start date, duration and value of the 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 are being either extended or renewed?
5. Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for managing the vetting process?
In Response:
Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with the ICT and Vetting Departments of Northumbria Police. I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by Northumbria Police.
I am able to disclose the located information to you as follows.
1 - 4. As the information you have requested at these points is accessible by other means I have not provided you with a copy of the information and will rely on Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. You should therefore consider this a refusal for your request.
I have provided an explanation to this exemption below.
Section 21 (1) - Information accessible by other means
Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant is exempt information.
This information is freely available via a search of the Bluelight Procurement Database (BLPD) and in order to aid and assist your further I have provided a link below to the website:
https://www.blpd.gov.uk
It should be noted that this is an annual rolling support agreement.
5. The senior officer (outside procurement) responsible for managing the vetting process is Jon Keenan 4681.
