When the Rural Broadband contract between the Isle of Wight council and BT was debated and voted upon in September 2013, it led to a split Cabinet. Only five members voted in favour of the contract – which was ‘sealed’ on 30th September – with three members abstaining.
The motion to go ahead with the contract with BT (through BDUK) included a number of conditions. The Isle of Wight council confirmed to OnTheWight in November 2013 that BT had agreed to meet all of those conditions outlined in the Cabinet papers.
Evidence of conditions
Keen to ensure the conditions had indeed been written into the contract with BDUK, OnTheWight requested a copy back in February from the council’s press office.
OnTheWight asked for a copy of the BT Rural Broadband Project contract, with commercially sensitive sections of it redacted if necessary.
Officer: “I need time to consult third parties”
The press officer chose not to answer it, but without reference to OnTheWight, forced it into an FOI request (sadly not an uncommon approach with IWC of old).
About four weeks later the officer dealing with the request wrote saying that our request “may be subject to an exemption under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act” and that “some of that information may also benefit from the following exemptions (information supplied in confidence/third party personal information/ commercial interests”. She told us “I need time to consult third parties before I can consider if the Isle of Wight Council is able to release it.”
She then assured us that she’d write to us again within the next seven working days.
Another four weeks later …
Four more weeks go by and still no sign of the said contracts or reply to emails, so we again followed up.
Eventually, on 23 April, we were told by the person dealing with it that that she’d been on holiday and that “The person I need to speak to with regard to this matter is on annual leave at the current time”.
Open and transparent?
This is a major contract with over £3m of council funds going to BT. Whether the conditions imposed at Cabinet in September 2013 were included is of public interest.
The Freedom of Information Act is very clear. The law says information must be provided within 20-working days.
Given that and that the Independents were elected under banner of changing the Isle of Wight council become open and transparent, is it really right that something as simple as releasing redacted contracts should take so long.
