Postal Point 1.40
Floor 1
Zone C
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
T 020 3334 3258
F 020 3334 2245
E
www.justice.gov.uk
Mr Paul Sullivan
29th May 2009 / Ref : FOI/09/58942/DO
Dear Mr Sullivan
Re: Request under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act
Thank you for your e-mail dated 3rd April 2009, in which you sought information relating to the following from the Ministry of Justice:
In most prisons the only ‘approved supplier’ is the Argos catalogue.
1. Is there a formal agreement between NOMS, the Prison service or the Home Office with Argos or its holding company?
2. Does NOMS, the Prison Service, the Home Office or individual ‘canteen’ supplier gain any financial reward from Argos or its parent company for
a) Access to prisoners
or
b) For each order or total cost of orders placed?
3) If your answer is that individual governors decide to use Argos as a supplier are there any incentives or rewards offered to governors either for personal rewards or towards the individual’s prison funds, or to the canteen supplier at that prison?
4) What checks are in place to ensure that prisoners have access to fair and reasonable prices where Argos is the sole ‘catalogue’ supplier?
I can confirm that the Department holds the information within the scope of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
1. Is there a formal agreement between NOMS, the Prison service or the Home Office with Argos or its holding company?
Under the agreed terms of the OGCbuying.solutions Framework Agreement with Argos Business Solutions Ltd. this is an open Framework Agreement permitting access to Other government Departments (including NOMS) to call off requirements for the provision of catalogue goods and services.
2. Does NOMS, the Prison Service, the Home Office or individual ‘canteen’ supplier gain any financial reward from Argos or its parent company for
c) Access to prisoners
or
For each order or total cost of orders placed?
Under the agreed terms of the OGCbuying.solutions Framework Agreement, a 5% discount has been negotiated for any purchases using the Government Procurement Card or Argos Corporate Link Account. This is a centrally negotiated discount that is effective as part of the Framework terms and conditions and contingent upon the aforementioned ordering method. The discount applied is taken as a contribution towards administration costs incurred in providing a catalogue service. In addition, a rebate can also apply when certain volume thresholds are reached. This is, again, contractually agreed within the terms of the Agreement but is contingent upon registration of the commitment in order that the spend is monitored and verified.
3) If your answer is that individual governors decide to use Argos as a supplier are there any incentives or rewards offered to governors either for personal rewards or towards the individual’s prison funds, or to the canteen supplier at that prison? – Individual governors are ultimately responsible for the choice, from the approved supplier’s, of catalogue provider to the prison. This decision will be based on considerations around security requirements and compliance with the prisons facilities list to ensure that only permitted goods are purchased. The choice to use Argos is dependent on the same criteria and there are no incentives or rewards offered to Governors for this decision.
4) What checks are in place to ensure that prisoners have access to fair and reasonable prices where Argos is the sole ‘catalogue’ supplier? – The price charged to prisoners for Argos goods are the same as those that appear in the Argos catalogue and, therefore, apply to the general public.
As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the Ministry of Justice has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may write to request an internal review. The internal review will be carried out by someone who did not make the original decision, and they will re-assess how the Department handled the original request.
If you wish to request an internal review, please write or send an email to the Data Access and Compliance Unit within two months of the date of this letter, at the following address:
Data Access and Compliance Unit
Information Directorate
Ministry of Justice
1st Floor, Zone 1C
Post point 1.41
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
e-mail:
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office under Section 50 of the FOIA. You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Internet: https://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/contact_us.aspx
Yours sincerely
Darren Over
Data Access and Compliance Unit