Content

Salford City Council – Record of
Decision
 
I, Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in
exercise of the powers contained within the Council
Constitution do hereby:
 

·     
approve the award of the Contract for Enforcement
Services, as detailed in the table below:
 

Detail required

Answers

Title/Description of Contracted
Service/Supply/Project

Enforcement Services

Name of Successful
Contractor

Marston Holdings (NSL Services Ltd)

Supplier Registration Number

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

06033060

Type of organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Private Limited Company

Status of Organisation

(to be supplied by Corporate
Procurement)

Non-SME

Contract Value (£)

£991,595 per annum estimated average

Contract Duration

60 months

Contract Start Date

01/04/2024

Contract End Date

31/03/2029

Optional Extension Period 1

36 months

Optional Extension Period 2

24 months

Who will approve each Extension
Period?

Procurement Board (extension >
£150k)

Contact Officer (Name &
number)

Andy Devine   
Tel No 07717 431738

Lead Service Group

Place

How the contract was procured?

(to be supplied by
procurement)

Tender (Open)

Framework Details (where
applicable)

(procurement body, framework reference
& title, start/ end date

N/A

Funding Source

Revenue Budget

Ethical Contractor (EC): Mayor’s
Employment Charter

 

EC: Committed to sign Charter

 

EC: Accredited Living Wage
Employer

 
The Reasons are:
 
The
tender process was initiated on 4th October 2023 with
all returns by the afternoon of 6th November 2023
although after a request from some of the interested parties this
deadline was extended by 1 week. The opportunity was advertised in
the Find a Tender replacement for the European Journal, Contracts
Finder and the Northwest Portal as an open tender.
 
Three submissions were received and the scores for each
submission are contained in the following table:
 

Name of Bidder

% Price score

Max 40%

% Quality score

Max 45%

% Social Value

Max 15%

%Overall Score

100%

 

Rank

Provider A

38.71%

35.78%

9.36%

83.85%

3

Provider B

40.00%

36.00%

13.20%

89.20%

2

Marston (NSL)

36.53%

42.30%

11.77%

90.60%

1

 
Marston Holdings are the parent company of which NSL are their
Enforcement subsidiary – for the remainder of the report they
will be referred to by their enforcement arm NSL. Bidder B scored
higher in the Price and Social Value aspects but NSL scored
extremely highly in terms of its quality submission and the NSL
Social Value submission received higher marks for the overall
quality of their SV submission.
 
As a
result of the overall scoring NSL is therefore proposed as the
successful bidder. They submitted a total price of £991,595
for the contract although there will be an annual uplift that
factors in the Real Living Wage increases from April 2024. These
costs can be broken down thus- £906,606 for parking
enforcement services to be paid from the Parking Services Revenue
Budget and £84,989 for environmental enforcement being paid
from Environment & Community Safety budget stream. The new
contract price includes for provision of new uniforms, equipment,
more environmentally friendly vehicles and the increase in
overheads that have occurred more generally.
 
In
the current contract an example of annual cost was £1,056,494
however in previous years the revenue from enforcement covered the
cost of the Enforcement contract and made a surplus which has been
increasing year on year and this surplus position is expected to be
maintained in the future.
 
Previously awarded contracts have operated over lengthy periods
of time which assists in maintaining experienced staff, provides
continuity of service and encourages investment back into the
partnership by the successful contractor (NSL provided bodycams for
officers on patrol as an example from the recent contract) which is
of further additional advantage. Bearing this in mind the length of
contract to be offered is for an initial five years with further
options to extend for an initial three then a final two years
should it be mutually agreed. Break clauses have been built into
the contract at these potential extension periods and this contract
will be reviewed on a six-monthly basis and in order to protect the
best interests of the Council in terms of expenditure and quality
of service, we will have the ability to terminate the contract
either for both or for the individual enforcement services with a
3-month (90 days) notice period.
 
All
Social Value related questions were evaluated via the National
Themes, Outcomes and Measures Framework (TOMs) and this will be
utilised to monitor the benefits Social Value will bring to the
City during the lifetime of the contract. Feedback from the TOMs
highlighted that the NSL response to Social Value was good and that
TOMs had confidence they would deliver their Social Value
commitments.
 
The
main areas within the Social Value submission included:

·     
Advertising and recruiting locally.

·     
Undertaking staff surveys and paying them the
Salford Living Wage.

·     
Providing relevant educational opportunities for
their employees.

·     
Providing educational and training for local
residents especially those identified as being in hard-to-reach
categories.

·     
Supporting the local community by purchasing locally
where possible.

·     
Providing opportunities for staff to work in local
community projects.

·     
Contributing £1,000 to a local initiative of
the Council’s choosing.

·     
Working towards reducing their carbon footprint by
making themselves a more sustainable operation.
 
Assessment of Risk:
High - as any interruption of parking enforcement, could have a
severe adverse effect on traffic movement in the City.
 
The
source of funding is
£906,606 for parking enforcement services to be paid from the
Parking Services Revenue Budget and £84,989 for environmental
enforcement being paid from Environment & Community Safety
budget stream.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS:
Supplied by: The Shared Legal Service
When
commissioning contracts for the procurement of goods, services, or
the execution of works, the Council must comply with the Public
Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and its own Contractual Standing
Orders (CSO’s), failing which a contract may be subject to
legal challenge from an aggrieved provider. CSO’s stipulate
that where a suitable framework agreement exists, this must be used
unless there is an auditable reason not to. The proposed award of
the contract follows a competitive tender exercise in accordance
with an Open Tender procedure advertised via Contracts Finder and
the Chest portal.
 
The
procurement procedure undertaken in this matter appears robust, and
the appointment of the provider for this service follows an open
tender process which is outlined within the body of the
report, with 3 bidders submitting tenders and
being evaluated on the most economically advantageous tender basis,
resulting in the proposed award of the contract to NSL
Limited, which is compliant with the
requirements of CSO’s and public procurement
legislation.
 
Undertaking the open tender exercise in the
recommendation will also give some comfort to the Council in
ensuring that value for money is being obtained and
periodically tested, with open competition maintained.
 
As
the value of the contract award for the five-year term exceeds
£1 million, Procurement Board will recommend the award to the
City Mayor who can then take the decision to approve.
 

FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS: Submitted by:  Martin
Anglesey, 19 December 2023
The annual contract as
per the Tender is £991,595, split as follows: £906,606
Parking Services and £84,989 Environmental
Enforcement.
 
The above expenditure
will enable continued parking enforcement to be
undertaken.
 
The latest (Nov 2023)
income estimate in respect of Penalty Charge Notices (PCN’S)
alone for financial year 2023/24 is £1,591,227, indicating
how the expenditure realises financial surplus in addition to
maintaining safer traffic flow within the City. This level of
income is expected to continue going forward into future financial
years.
 
Acquiring a 5-year
contract should enable the City Council to maintain costs at
competitive rates. For example, in April 2023, a 12-month
continuity of service was implemented. Whilst continuing to realise
a net surplus, the associated costs were higher (current 2023/24
forecast of £1 million) due to the limited scope available in
acquiring a provider.
 
Following the initial
5-year contract period, options to extend (for a further 3, and 2
years thereafter) will provide the City Council opportunity to
evaluate the effectiveness of the current contract, and whether to
continue with the same provider. There will be an increase in the
service contract year on year due to Living Wage commitments. The
anticipated surplus will adequately cover this each year, together
with any increases to scheduled fees and charges to be implemented
across the City’s car parks / increases to nationally set PCN
rates.
 
Maintaining the
contract with the current provider also achieves continuity of
service whereby robust systems are already active with regards to
financial transactions, reducing risk to the City
Council.
 
The source of funding
is Parking Services revenue budget (D0584) and Environmental
Services revenue budget (F0229).
 
Project Innovate would
not be applicable due to the complex requirements of the specific
scheme.

PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS: Supplied by: Deborah Derbyshire x
6244
The opportunity was advertised as an open procedure through the
Northwest Portal, Find a Tender and the Contracts Finder. The
procurement process is identified in the report above. The process
complies the Procurement Contracts Regulations and the Councils
Contractual Standing Orders.
 
As part of the Council’s
Innovate programme and budget challenges over the next three years,
the service group will work with the provider to consider
efficiencies, revenue savings opportunities and enhanced contract
management KPI’s as part of this contract.

 
 
HR IMPLICATIONS: N/A

 
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS: 
Supplied by: Michael Hemingway, 15 December 2023
 
NSL
are cognisant of the City’s carbon neutral by 2038 ambitions
and the urgent actions needed to help achieve this. They aim to
support the GM 5-year Environment Plan by establishing a Green
Travel Plans alongside supporting staff to do the right thing
including encouraging flexible working and use of public transport;
cycling/walking and car-sharing. They are switching their entire
operational fleet to electric/hybrid vehicles and installing
charging infrastructure at all accommodation where possible. Over
the lifetime of the contract they aim to reduce or remove or
activities which have a negative environmental impact or increase
carbon footprint. To facilitate this NSL have also established a
carbon baseline and carbon reduction plan for this
contract.
 
The following documents have
been used to assist the decision process:

·     

Approval was initially granted at
Procurement Board on 11th January 2023.

 

·     
Approval for an Exception to Contractual Standing
Orders to extend the current contract for Parking Enforcement
Services and Associated Services for up to a maximum of twelve
months and seek approval to initiate a new competitive tender
process for the provision of Enforcement Services was granted at
Procurement Board on 8th March 2023.

 

·     
Briefing Note to Lead Member for Planning, Transport
and Sustainable Development with an Options Appraisal on the most
appropriate method of Procuring the next Parking Enforcement
Contract on 20th June 2023.
 
Contact Officer:       Andy
Devine
Telephone number: 07717 431738
 
The Lead Member for Planning,
Transport and Sustainable Development has been consulted and is
supportive of the proposed contract.
 
The appropriate Scrutiny
Committee to call-in the decision is the Growth & Prosperity
Scrutiny
 

Signed:    Paul Dennett
             Dated:   14 February
2024.
           
     City
Mayor
 

FOR DEMOCRATIC SERVICES USE
ONLY
 
*          
This decision was published on 12 March 2024
*          
This decision will come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 19 March 2024
unless it is called-in in
accordance with the Decision-Making Process Rules.