The Executive Decision meeting of Waltham Forest Council on Tuesday 7 May 2024 was scheduled to discuss proposals for the procurement of IT systems for the Revenues & Benefits service. The meeting's agenda focused on two key areas: the IT processing system and the Electronic Document Management System (EDMS).

Revenues & Benefits IT Processing System

The meeting was scheduled to consider a report regarding the Revenues & Benefits service's IT processing system. This system, currently Capita One, has been in use for approximately twenty-five years and is managed through a contract due to end on 31 March 2026. The report outlined plans to ensure best value and realise future technological and economic benefits for the service and the Council.

Following a review of the Council's finances, which highlighted significant financial challenges, the report suggested that retaining the incumbent Capita One system on a long-term basis is the most prudent approach. This would avoid the substantial cost of change associated with a competitive procurement process, estimated to exceed £1 million for internal resourcing, training, data migration, and potential system downtime.

The report recommended a direct award to Capita One via the Kent Commercial Services (KCS) framework Y20023. This would involve a minimum contract term of seven years with an optional three-year extension. The proposed approach aims to facilitate a move to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, aligning with the Council's ICT strategy, while eliminating the risk of significant additional expenditure. The report noted that this option would also allow for the eventual move to a SaaS instance without penalty.

Several options were considered, including:

• Do Nothing: Extending the existing contract without updating terms and conditions or moving to a SaaS solution.
• Competitive FTS Open Tender: A process that would theoretically maximise supplier responses but carries a significantly increased cost of change risk.
• Mini competition via compliant framework call-off: Previously recommended, this option was no longer favoured due to increased cost of change risks.
• Direct Award to Capita One via KCS framework: This option would retain the current solution but not provide a SaaS solution.
• Direct Award to Capita One SaaS via KCS framework: This would facilitate a SaaS solution but would require immediate implementation, potentially impacting the planned procurement of the EDMS.
• Direct Award to Capita One via KCS framework with option to move to SaaS without penalty (Recommended): This option was presented as the most appropriate, balancing cost of change risk with the benefits of a SaaS solution and modern contract terms.

The report also addressed implications for Finance, Value for Money, and Risk, Legal, Equalities and Diversity, Sustainability, and Council Infrastructure. An equality screening exercise indicated no negative impact on the Council's equality duty, with the system supporting eligibility assessments for various financial support schemes. Sustainability considerations included the potential for reduced energy consumption through cloud-hosted solutions.

Revenues & Benefits Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) Retender

The meeting was also scheduled to consider a report on the retendering of the Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) used by the Revenues & Benefits and Customer Resolution Centre departments. The current system, Civica Digital 360, has been in place for approximately eighteen years. The report highlighted the need for a full procurement exercise to ensure best value and leverage future technological and economic benefits.

The proposal was to procure a new EDMS via the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Vertical Application Solutions framework (RM6259). This framework was identified as the best fit, listing leading suppliers and allowing for a call-off length in line with service needs. The procurement aims to explore potential solutions offering value for money, alignment with the Revenues & Benefits primary IT system (Capita One), infrastructure optimisation through a SaaS model, improved workflow efficiency, and supplier-managed support.

The report outlined several options considered:

• Do Nothing: Extending the existing Civica contract, which is not recommended as it would not allow for evaluation of alternatives and the current locally hosted product will not be supported by the supplier beyond 2025.
• Direct Award via CCS framework: This would reduce time and effort but would not present the best value for money opportunities due to a lack of competition.
• Competitive FTS Open Tender: This option was not recommended due to the limited number of viable suppliers and the significant time and resource cost involved.
• Mini competition via compliant CCS RM6259 framework call-off (Recommended): This option was recommended as it allows for full product evaluation through competition between suppliers on an approved framework, ensuring best value for money and facilitating the required minimum seven-year contract term.

The report also detailed implications for Finance, Value for Money, and Risk, Legal, Equalities and Diversity, Sustainability, and Council Infrastructure. Similar to the IT processing system report, the equality screening indicated no negative impact on the Council's equality duty. Sustainability considerations focused on the potential for reduced energy consumption through cloud-hosted solutions. The report noted that the current locally hosted solution would not be supported by the supplier from 2025, posing risks of increased downtime, data loss, and reduced performance if the proposal were not agreed.