The Cabinet Member Signing meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 27 January 2026, was set to discuss the procurement of enforcement agency services to collect outstanding Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs). The meeting's agenda also included standard procedural items.

Procurement of Enforcement Agency Services

A key item scheduled for discussion was the procurement of enforcement agency services to collect PCN-related debt for the London Borough of Haringey. The report pack indicated that the council aimed to enter into a two-year contract, with no option for extension, for the execution of Warrants of Control related to parking and traffic PCNs. This procurement was intended to replace the current arrangement with a single enforcement agency, CDER Group, which has been in place since April 2021.

The report highlighted that the council is operating in a changing world with increasing financial pressures on both PCN recipients and the council itself. The parking service is evolving its debt collection approach, taking into account statutory guidance, regulations, codes of practice, and best practices to ensure the compliant and ethical recovery of legitimate parking debt while maximising overall recovery.

The proposed procurement, to be conducted via the YPO Framework^[1], aimed to appoint several enforcement agencies. This would mitigate the risk associated with relying on a single provider and foster healthy competition to improve collection rates. The revised contract specification includes further safeguards to protect vulnerable individuals and ensure fair treatment. New services planned under the YPO framework are intended to address persistent evaders and those deliberately avoiding vehicle registration, leading to a more robust approach to debt recovery.

The report recommended that the Cabinet Member for Resident Services & Tackling Inequality approve the initiation and execution of this procurement process. The reasons cited for this decision included:

• Risk Mitigation: Using multiple collection agencies removes the unacceptable risk of relying on a single provider.
• Improved Collection: Competition between agencies is expected to enhance collection rates.
• Enhanced Governance: The revised specification includes a more robust governance and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) structure.
• Cost Savings: The revised specification makes the enforcement agency responsible for the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) registration fee of £10.00 per PCN, anticipating an annual saving of approximately £600,000.
• Ethical Debt Collection: The revised specification incorporates enhanced provisions to protect the vulnerable and is based on the principles of ethical debt collection, balancing firmness with compassion.
• Framework Alignment: The YPO framework is already in use for other debt types within Haringey and other councils.

The report detailed that in 2023/24, the council issued 397,000 parking and traffic PCNs, generating approximately £20 million in income, with around £2 million collected by the existing sole enforcement agency. The report also outlined the statutory fees associated with debt collection, which are ultimately recovered from debtors. The current collection rate for CDER Group is between 16-20%, with the aim of increasing this to over 20% through the new procurement.

The specification for the service providers, detailed in Appendix 1 of the report pack, outlines stringent requirements for operational standards, data security, complaint handling, and the identification and protection of vulnerable residents. It also details the performance monitoring framework, including financial and operational KPIs, against which the selected agencies will be assessed.