Purpose

Background:
On 14th July 2026, the Executive considered the introduction of a booking system for the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres. The Executive approved the implementation of a booking system at all Household Waste Recycling Centres and delegated authority to the Executive Director for Place to approve the subsequent award of the contract.

The Booking System will address issues such as increasing visitor numbers, queuing, congestion, commercial misuse and pressure on recycling performance across Lincolnshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres. It offers operational, financial and customer service benefits, including improved traffic management, safer site operations and the potential to deliver significant revenue savings through reduced waste tonnage. The Booking System also provides a platform for more proactive site management, enabling the Council to better balance demand, improve compliance and create the operational capacity required to enhance recycling performance.

This decision gives effect to the earlier Executive decision and the authority delegated under decision reference I038844.

Procurement Process:

The Council has undertaken the prescribed buying process under the Crown Commercial Service RM1557.14 G-Cloud 14, Lot 2 – Cloud Software framework, in consultation with the Council’s Commercial team.

The Council defined its functional, technical, implementation, support and service requirements and assessed the available framework services against these requirements and their published pricing. The assessment considered matters including functionality, deliverability, service support, information governance, implementation timescales and whole-life cost.
BookingLab Limited’s GovBook HWRC Booking Service was assessed as offering the best overall fit with the Council’s requirements and value for money under the framework buying process. The proposed contract will be for three years with an optional one year added, with a total anticipated value of £120,000, including any permitted extension periods.

Risk:
The risks associated with the award relate to implementation within the required programme, system availability, information security, resident accessibility and ongoing supplier performance. These risks will be managed through an agreed implementation plan, testing and acceptance arrangements, contractual service levels, data protection , assisted booking arrangements and ongoing contract performance monitoring.

Failure to award the contract would place the planned implementation date at risk and prevent the Council from achieving the operational, customer service and management-information benefits approved by the Executive.

Decision

That the Executive Director of Place approve the award of a contract to BookingLab Limited. for the provision of a GovBook HWRC Booking Service, enabling the public to book appointments for Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).

That the Executive Director of Place delegates authority to the Head of Waste to make such decisions as are necessary to vary the contract through its term, provided that the contract’s total value
does not exceed a 10% increase.

Alternative options considered

DO NOTHING
This option was rejected as it would limit the Council's ability to access
a fully supported Booking System for waste. Failure to procure and
implement a replacement system within this timeframe would result
in the Waste Service being unable to deliver statutory functions relating to the registration for waste services in the County. Operating
without a functioning system would lead to serious service disruption,
and an unacceptable risk to service continuity.

OPEN TENDER
Negotiating favourable terms in technology contracts can be inherently
complex and often necessitates significant legal involvement, which in
turn can extend procurement timelines. Where multiple suppliers are
engaged, the use of a two-stage restricted procedure can further
lengthen the process due to the additional stages of evaluation and clarification required. Although developing a fully detailed
specification is considered best practice for major strategic
procurements, the nature of the IT market increasingly favours cost-
effective, configurable, off the shelf solutions. In such cases, the time
and resources required to undertake a lengthy and highly detailed tendering exercise may not deliver proportional benefits. By contrast,
awarding a contract through an established framework or catalogue can provide a more efficient, and commercially appropriate route to market while still ensuring compliance and value for money.

DIRECT AWARD
A direct award is not appropriate in this instance, as the contract value exceeds the thresholds permitted under public sector procurement regulations. To ensure fairness, transparency, and demonstrable value for money, the Waste Booking System must be procured through a competitive or framework-based process.

FRAMEWORKS
Utilising framework agreements offers significant advantages to the Council. Framework suppliers have already met defined suitability and compliance criteria, including pre-agreed terms, service standards, and alignment to framework specifications. This reduces procurement timescales, and limits the need for protracted contract negotiations.
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM1557 G-Cloud 14, Lot 2 (Cloud Software) framework was identified as the most appropriate route, as it directly aligns with the Council’s requirement for cloud-based Waste Booking System.
Alternative frameworks were considered, including:

• CCS RM6259 Vertical Application Solutions (VAS). Though having five lots, with Lot 4 Citizen Services have a touch of Waste Systems, the scope is broader (libraries, museums, sports, burials, crematoria), often attracting integrated case/line of business solutions.
• CCS RM6285 Back Office Software 2 (BOS2). Though having 2 Lots, it entirely lacks the specific description that indicate the availability of software designed for the unique operation of Waste Booking System.