Agenda item
Re-procurement of the new parking contract
Members will receive a presentation providing an update on the re-procurement of the parking enforcement project. The presentation will cover:
· The existing contract and incumbent provider
· Procurement approach
· Tender submissions and outcome
· BAFO negotiation and submissions
· Financial outcome and savings
· Operational outcome
· Added value
· Collaborative outcome
· Mobilisation outcome
The full report went to the Executive on 11 March 2013 to award a joint contract for the provision of parking services as required by Standing Order 88(c). The report summarised the results of the procurement process undertaken by officers from the West London Alliance participating boroughs for the provision of parking enforcement and notice processing services and following completion of the evaluation recommends a contractor for award of the proposed contract. The report also sets out the financial savings and other benefits associated with the contract. The Executive report has been provided as background information.
Minutes:
David Thrale (Head of Safer Streets, Environment and Neighbourhood Services) gave a presentation on the new parking contract and advised that the current contract was due to expire on 3 July 2013. The new contract would commence from 4 July 2013 and be part of a collaborative procurement competition involving LBs Brent, Ealing and Hounslow. The Brent vision for Parking Services involved:-
· A modern approach to delivering parking services
· Responding to customer demand
· Realising efficiency savings
· Embracing the Brent brand
· Working with neighbouring LBs and engaging with customers to provide high quality services to West London residents
Members were provided details of the procurement process and its’ outcome and it was envisaged that the estimated value of the contract would be £37.7m for Brent over ten years, with a first year costing of £4.4m and subsequent years £3.7m a year over a potential ten year term. Savings were anticipated to equate to around 23% in terms of cost of contract, which far exceeded the 5% target in the business case. SERCO had been awarded the contract which also had ‘added value’ commitments, including improvements to the customer services processes and enhancements to enforcement methods. An additional benefit for LB Brent was the fact that back office functions would be based in the borough.
In terms of how the service would operate, David Thrale explained that recovery of revenue would undergo a data cleansing exercise and the contractor would even be able to pursue penalty charge notices (PCNs) from foreign vehicles. In addition, the longstanding 0845 penalty telephone number would be replaced with a 020 prefix. The new contract would be preceded by the closure of parking shops. The parking shop in Pyramid House had undergone a ‘soft closure’ with staff available for a period of time to provide help to residents during the changes to the service. A new online system for parking permits has been introduced and is fully automated to give instant decisions in the majority of cases. Significant changes to charges would be introduced from autumn 2013, with differentiation in charges for permits and cashless parking and a simplification of the permit system. David Thrale advised that coin based payments were costly to collect and bank, so over a period of time parking cash machines would be taken out of service through a pilot scheme later this year and depending on how things went, would either be removed or reinstated for a time if residents were not yet ready for the changes.
During members’ discussion, details were sought of parking permit costs and whether parking permits could be collected. Clarification was sought concerning Blue Badge holders and whether it was possible to reduce parking permit fees because of the savings made with the new contract. A member asked if an update on how working with the other partner LBs could be provided at a future meeting.
In reply, David Thrale advised that parking permit charges would not changes as a result of the retendering of the contract, but would change in accordance with an earlier decision by the Executive in September 2012. It would be possible to pay for parking permits in some local shops, although this would be costlier than from obtaining them online or on the telephone line. A database of Blue Badge holders existed and vehicles would be checked for disability exemption before any penalty charge is issued.
Councillor J Moher added that efforts were being made to tackle instances of Blue Badge fraud. The new contract would be monitored to assess how it was working and in particular the effectiveness of cashless parking.
Michael Read welcomed any feedback from members and to raise any issues that required further explanation or were of any concern to them.
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