Purpose

The Annual Canvass of Households in the District is a function of the Electoral Registration Officer and, accordingly, the District Council will provide the means by which that Officer can conduct the Canvass and the costs shall be borne by the Council.
Prior to the award of the contract, a procurement exercise was conducted by advertising the specification of requirements on Find a Tender: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025032-2025 The deadline for submission of bids was 17 June 2025. The bids submitted were subject to evaluation by a panel. The evaluation comprised of Commercial and Technical assessment. 9 companies submitted bids to supply these services. The highest scoring company in both the Commercial and Technical evaluations was SCIprint Limited. SCIprint Limited were the incumbent contractor, have a solid verified reputation with colleagues in the electoral community and have given no concerns to the authority during their previous canvass contract period. The bid submitted by SCIprint Limited was the lowest in cost terms.

Decision

That the Council shall meet the costs of the award by the Deputy Electoral Registration Officer of a contract, following bids from potential suppliers, in respect of Electoral Registration Canvass costs from printing and postage to be undertaken in 2025, 2026, 2027 by SCIprint Limited. The value of the print work for the initial three year period is anticipated to be approximately £17,805. Postage costs are in addition to these charges and expected to be approximately £66,367. The cost for 2025 will be broadly similar to that incurred in 2024 for the same activity. Precise costs will depend upon response rates, Royal Mail charges and the number of reminders needing to be issued. The cost falls within the overall budget for the service as provided by the Council.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 - To use another print and postage supplier and incur increased costs. This was rejected as there was a need to consider the fiduciary duty owed to Council Tax payers locally.
Option 2 -
Option 3 -