Request for information on Forensic Capability Network
Reference: 21042
Date Added: Friday, January 28, 2022
Category:
Disclosure Details
Thank you for your recent request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.
Two duties are placed on public authorities under Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Notwithstanding applicable exemptions, the first duty at, Section 1(1) (a), is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at, Section1 (1) (b), is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held. Under the provisions of those sections of the FOIA, we can confirm that the information you seek is partly held by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent.
You have requested the following information:
- Please confirm whether your police force has considered entering into a collaboration agreement pursuant to section 22A of the Police Act 1996 (as amended by the PRSRA) to establish a Forensic Capability Network (FCN).
No information held
- Please confirm whether, as a result of such consideration, that such an agreement has been signed and if not please supply the reasons for not entering such an agreement.
No information held
- If, such an agreement has been entered, please supply the date on which the agreement came into legal force.
No information held
- Please confirm whether your police force has agreed that the Forensic Capability Network will prepare the next round of contracts for physical forensic services as part of their "next generation procurement" as detailed here on the FCN website https://www.fcn.police.uk/news/2021-11/seven-year-plan-next-generation-procurement-physical-forensics-goes-market , in other words, is your police force using this process or something else to procure such services?
No information held
- If your police force is using something other than the Forensic Capabilty Network's process described in (4), please provide information as to what that process is.
Gwent Police are currently part of the West and Southern Coast Consortium agreement regarding the procurement and delivery of forensic analytical services, I am unsure if this covers the information you are looking for but additional information should be available on the Bluelight Procurement Database. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Gwent do no hold any information on the process in place as a result of this agreement as this is be managed by Gwent Police.
I just wanted to clarify that the OPCC and Gwent Police are two separate organisations. Areas such as procurement are managed by Gwent Police and the OPCC do not have access to this information. You may wish to contact Gwent Police directly to determine if they hold any information in relation to the questions you have submitted via the following link https://www.gwent.police.uk/rqo/request/ri/request-information/rip/request-information-police/
The Freedom of Information Act is a public disclosure regime, not a private regime. Any information disclosed under the Act is thereafter deemed to be in the public domain, and therefore freely available to the general public and will be published on the OPCC website.
You have the right to appeal our decision if you think it is incorrect. Should you feel dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was handled, information on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent FOI Appeals Procedure can be found on our website: http://www.gwent.pcc.police.uk/en/transparency/know-your-rights/your-information-rights/freedom-of-information/appeals-process/
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Commissioner is an independent regulator whose details can be found using the following link: Home | ICO
You can also write to the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF