Decision

To award a contract for two years with an option to extend for a further year to Civica Election Services Limited for the supply of electoral specialist printing services at an estimated total cost of £95,300.11 for three years.

Reasons for recommendations

1. To ensure that the council can comply with its statutory duties in relation to the conduct of elections and electoral registration.
2. To ensure compliance with the council’s contract procedure rules and national procurement legislation in relation to the procurement of public contracts.
3. To ensure that the printers can meet the very specific requirements relating to the printing of election and electoral services materials

Other options considered and rejected

1. Due to the specialised printing of statutory documents, the contract will be awarded to one supplier only with the requirements that the supplier has employees who are members of the professional body (The Association of Electoral Administrators).
2. A direct award via the G Cloud 14 framework agreement has been rejected due to the inability to properly vet the quality of suppliers using this framework.