We require to know precisely how much money was saved by Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) and Airband from the descoping of the fibre infrastructure build in the Sydenham Damerel, Townlake and Scrubtor areas which resulted from duplication of public funded works as identified by the Sydenham Damerel Community Fibre Partnership (SD CFP).
We do not currently hold this information. CDS has been informed of the SD CFP and has raised a change request to Airband to request a Change Impact Assessment (CIA). This forms part of the contractual change mechanism and is currently progressing through the assessment phase. The documentation including indicative costs is being assessed and verified and no finalised figures will be available until the full process has been completed, including assurance by Building Digital UK and contractual changes formalised.
We request detailed, itemised and justified costs and all relevant particulars. Furthermore, we wish to know how CDS propose that these savings should be reallocated to fibre infrastructure elsewhere.
For the reasons set out above, we do not currently hold this information. Until such time as the process is complete and assured by Building Digital UK, and the contract changes formalised, no such figure can be given.
The process for considering de-scoping premises and the re-investment of any subsidy into the relevant contract is an important and complex one. To provide clarity for other communities who may find themselves in similar positions in future, CDS has now outlined the steps in the process on its website. This information can be found online at What is the Process
It is important to note that reallocation of any subsidy returned as the result of a descope applies across both the total geography and lifespan of the relevant contract, not necessarily in the immediate vicinity and at the point of descope.
We require the precise cost of installing a fibre infrastructure network to Lamerhooe and every alternative (with costs) that have been considered.
The premises in Lamerhooe do not form part of the contract with CDS. CDS does not therefore hold the information on the costs and designs prepared by Airband in consideration of whether it would be feasible to connect them. Whilst CDS has been informed of the costs involved, this information was provided by Airband in the expectation of confidentiality. Given this, we are exempting this information from disclosure under Section 41 of the FOIA. This is because the data requested was supplied to CDS in confidence by a third party and disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of that confidentiality.
We further request copies of all correspondence, letters, minutes of meetings, e-mails, transcripts of telephone calls and the like either within CDS or between CDS and any other involved parties with regard to any and all issues associated with installation of a fibre broadband connection to Lamerhooe.
The premises at Lamerhooe do not form part of the contract with CDS and, as such, CDS is not routinely party to information relating to that project. Any materials held which reference that scheme will have been provided to CDS by a third party in confidence and, as such, we are exempting such materials under Section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.