Issue - meetings

(Safer, Greener & Transport Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-050-2016/17).

(1)        That, following a procurement exercise, the contract for off street enforcement, cash collection and first line machine maintenance be awarded to NSL Limited at a yearly cost of £181,370 for an initial period of five years with an option to extend by another two;

(2)        That a new post of Car Parking and Street Furniture Supervisor be created to deal with the additional workload associated with the off street parking enforcement and a salary budget allocation in the sum of £32,030 be agreed;

(3)        That a one off budget allocation of £75,000 from the Invest to Save Fund, for the purchase and set up costs of IT infrastructure (hardware and software), be agreed for the delivery of the off street enforcement operations;

(4)     That, after deducting salary costs for the new post, a Continuing Services Budget saving of £58,600 from 2017/18 be noted; and

(5)        That a further report be submitted to the Cabinet detailing any one-off TUPE related costs as soon as these become known.

The Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener & Transport presented a report on the award of the contract for off street parking enforcement and cash collection.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that the Council had joined the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) in October 2012 for the delivery of off street enforcement and cash collection in all of its car parks. Until that time, the enforcement function was provided by Vinci Parks Limited and the back office functions by in-house staff. As a result of a review carried out by RTA Associates Limited, which demonstrated that there was a clear advantage for the Council to provide off street enforcement operations itself, the Cabinet agreed on 11 January 2016 to give notice to the NEPP. This meant that the Council had to have an alternative arrangement in place by 1 April 2017. 

The Portfolio Holder stated that a procurement exercise for the provision of off street enforcement, cash collection and front line machine maintenance was undertaken under the European Procurement Rules. All the tenders received had been assessed under the previously agreed price/quality ratio of 60/40, and the highest scoring bid was from NSL Limited for an annual cost of £181,370 over a five-year contract with an option to extend for a further two years. It was also proposed to create a new post to manage the additional workload with the off street parking enforcement function, and a £75,000 allocation from the ‘Invest to Save’ fund was requested to cover the purchase and set up costs of the necessary ICT infrastructure. It was highlighted that there would be a revenue saving of £58,600 per annum from 2017/18, even after deducting the salary costs for the new post.

In response to queries from the Members present, the Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods (Technical Services) reminded the Cabinet that the previous Officers who had fulfilled the duties of the proposed new post had either been made redundant or had transferred across to the NEPP under TUPE. Increasing the provision of evening and weekend parking enforcement would also be investigated as the Council could pay for extra enforcement under the terms of the new contract.

The Cabinet welcomed the report and was not surprised that the Council was able to obtain significantly better value from a different provider than the NEPP. The Finance Portfolio Holder, Cllr Mohindra, added that the Council was not looking to increase revenue from Penalty Charge Notices, and the Leader of Council stated that the Council was taking back control of its off street car parks to support the town centres throughout the District.

Decision:

(1)        That, following a procurement exercise, the contract for off street enforcement, cash collection and first line machine maintenance be awarded to NSL Limited at a yearly cost of £181,370 for an initial period of five years with an option to extend by another two;

(2)        That a new post of Car Parking and Street Furniture Supervisor be created to deal with the additional workload associated with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 104

(Safer, Greener & Transport Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-076-2015/16).

(1)        That the attached Invest to Save Funding bid for the costs associated with the procurement process for the management of the Council off street car parks be agreed; and

(2)        That a further report be submitted to the Cabinet detailing the Procurement Strategy, potential savings, set up costs and timeline for the delivery of off street parking operations outside of the North Essex Parking Partnership.

The Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener & Transport presented a report on an ‘Invest to Save’ funding bid for the provision of the Off Street Parking Arrangements in the District.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that it had agreed to give notice of withdrawal from the Off Street Parking element of the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) at its meeting on 11 January 2016. This notice had to be served by 31 March 2016 and would allow the Council to operate the Off Street Car Parking operation itself from 1 April 2017. When making this decision, the Cabinet considered the scoping report by Road Traffic Act Associates (RTAA) which concluded that there were clear financial advantages for the Council to depart from the Off Street Parking element of NEPP. The Cabinet also recognised that the Council did not possess the in-house expertise to carry out the procurement exercise for the appointment of a provider for the Off Street Enforcement operations, cash collections, pay and display machine maintenance and administration, and also agreed to set aside Contract Standing Orders to enable the appointment of RTAA to assist the Council with the procurement process.

The Portfolio Holder reported that £15,000 had previously been approved from the ‘Invest to Save’ fund for the work undertaken by RTAA for the scoping report; there was £10,000 of this sum left. It was estimated that a further £15,000 would be required for the appointment of RTAA to provide the Council with specialist advice during the procurement process for the management of the Off Street Car Parks across the District, and these monies was again being sought from the 'Invest to Save’ fund. A further report would be submitted to the Cabinet in due course outlining the Procurement Strategy, potential savings, implementation costs, and a schedule for the delivery of Off Street Parking Operations.

The Cabinet welcomed the report but one or two Members expressed concern over ‘wizardry with figures’. A local Member for Loughton Broadway commented that the performance of the NEPP had been derisory, both in respect of On and Off Street Parking enforcement, and there was an overwhelming argument to bring the Off Street Parking enforcement back in-house. The Portfolio Holder explained that, since the NEPP had taken control of the Off Street Car Parks, the revenue for the Council for enforcement had halved; although it was highlighted that the Council did not enforce solely to make money.

Decision:

(1)        That the Invest to Save Funding bid for the costs associated with the procurement process for the management of the Council off street car parks be agreed; and

(2)        That a further report be submitted to the Cabinet detailing the Procurement Strategy, potential savings, set up costs and timeline for the delivery of off street parking operations outside of the North Essex Parking Partnership.

Reasons for Decision:

To ensure the Council had expert professional advice when it procured a service provider for the Off Street Car Parking enforcement, cash collection and administration services.

Other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 158

Safer, Greener & Transport Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-062-2015/16).

(1)        That the outcome of the scoping study by RTA Associates Limited into the alternative provisions for the delivery of off street parking arrangements, which concluded that the Council would have a clear financial benefit by withdrawing from the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) for the off street element of the agreement, be noted;

(2)        That, subject to agreement with the conclusion of the scoping study, notice be served on NEPP for the Council to withdraw the off street parking element from the Joint Committee before 31 March 2016, enabling the commencement of the new service by 1 April 2017;

(3)   That authority be delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Safer Greener and Transport to agree the formal notice to NEPP, in consultation with the Directors of Neighbourhoods and Governance;

(4)     That a further report be submitted to the Cabinet outlining the procurement strategy, potential savings and set up costs and timeline for the delivery of off street parking operations outside of NEPP;

(5)        That the Portfolio Holder Advisory Group already established for the review of the impact of the parking strategy be requested to consider the options for the future provision of off street parking arrangements; and

(6)        That Contract Standing Orders C4 (contracts exceeding £25,000 but not exceeding £50,000) and C11 (Contract selection) be waived to appoint RTA Associates to provide specialist advice in preparing the tender specifications and consultancy support during the procurement process.

The Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener & Transport presented a report on alternative options for the provision of the off street parking arrangements within the District.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) had been created in 2011 following the decision by Essex County Council (ECC) to terminate the agency agreement for the delivery of the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement. The Council had joined the Partnership in 2012 at the end of the then enforcement contract with Vinci Parks Limited. The delivery of on street parking operations had been delegated to the Partnership by the County Council and all six member local authorities, and Colchester Borough Council hosted the Joint Committee that oversaw this. However, joining the management arrangements for the off street operations was voluntary and only five of the authorities had chosen to be part of this arrangement. In 2012, before making the decision to join the off street element of the Partnership, the Council had requested Vinci Parks to quote for the delivery of the off street parking enforcement and cash collections.

The Portfolio Holder reported that RTA Associates were recently commissioned to carry out a scoping study to establish if the Council was getting value for money from the Partnership, in respect of off street operations only, and give advice on alternative delivery options. The advice from RTA Associates was that there was a clear advantage to the Council providing the off street parking enforcement, cash collection and administrative functions either directly in house, fully outsourced or a combination of both. Based on soft market testing, the Council could save from approximately £31,000 per annum for a fully in-house service to approximately £113,000 for a fully outsourced service.

The Portfolio Holder reported that if the Council was minded to leave the Partnership then, under the terms of the Joint Committee Agreement of 2011, notice of at least twelve months had to be served on the Lead Authority, to be co-terminus with the end of the financial year. By giving notice before 31 March 2016, the Council could commence the new arrangements from 1 April 2017.

In response to questions from the Members present, the Portfolio Holder re-iterated that if the Council withdrew from the Partnership for off street operations then the Council would only receive a service for on street operations from the Partnership. In this instance, the Portfolio Holder would liaise with the Partnership Manager based at Harlow to ensure that the District received the best possible service for on street operations from the Partnership. The new machines being installed at the Council’s off street car parks would have the facility to accept card payments, and that there would be at least one of these machines at each car park. The Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods (Technical Services) cautioned that there were some issues over how the Council received the money for card payments made by customers of the car parks, primarily revolving around the fees levied by the banks for such payments.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 122