Purpose

Background

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) own www.visitlincolnshire.com but inherited the site back from various operators – Leicestershire Promotions, Chamber of Commerce and lastly Destination Lincolnshire. LCC acquired the site back at a difficult time for the tourist industry, at the beginning of the covid lockdown, and then updated the site.
The site features many hundreds of very small businesses: B&B’s, cafes, restaurants, attractions, events and farm-based businesses who all depend on Visit Lincolnshire for their livelihoods. At the time in discussion with IT they felt that they were not able to manage interaction with so many, often very demanding stakeholders.

The site has to be up to date and reactive or we receive complaints from potential visitors and Lincolnshire businesses. Changes need to be made within a short space of time and flexibility is key or reputational damage and lost business is the result. It was agreed that JADU wasn’t the appropriate platform and we were given permission to pursue the option of a different platform as being more appropriate to the very large number of businesses that we represent. This has been the most successful iteration of Visit Lincolnshire to date, it has 1.6m page views, an enviable 17% click through rate to bookings and as intended, is serving the needs of the Lincolnshire tourist industry.

The website was re-launched, under LCC control, in March 2021 with its business support element Business.Visit Lincolnshire (BVLS) following in November 2021. Visit Lincolnshire is the ‘go-to- platform for those looking for things to do around the County and support for the sector. The website is pivotal to supporting the promotion and development of the sector, and more so since the demise of DestinationLincolnshire.

The Energy Cell is a local supplier who have been delivering this service for Lincolnshire County Council prior to the re-launch of Visit Lincolnshire.com. However, The Energy Cell is not listed on any framework and the incumbent agreement which started on 1st October 2025 and due to expire 31st December 2026 as done using exception report to direct award. Energy Cell have been awarded the work via Exception Report since handover of the website in 2021.

The ongoing procurement is required to secure a supplier to deliver a Visit Lincolnshire Website Platform, including website hosting, support, maintenance, optimisation, project support and advice and associated digital marketing services for visitlincolnshire.com and business.visitlincolnshire.com.
The supplier, as well as carrying out the above actions, also consult on such information as best language to use for SEO and AI harvesting, best themes to encourage click through and visitor experience.

The contract will ensure the continued operation and performance of these platforms, supporting the promotion of Lincolnshire’s visitor economy and maintaining alignment with evolving digital standards and user expectations. The proposed contract term is 2 years with the option to extend for a further 1 + 1 years.
Lincolnshire County Council will retain ownership of the domain assets, with the appointed supplier granted access solely for the delivery of the contracted services.

Risk
A key risk relates to service continuity. Failure to secure the incumbent supplier could result in disruption to website hosting, support, and maintenance, leading to potential downtime and reputational damage to the Visit Lincolnshire brand and LCC.

Additional risks include supplier transition and onboarding, including potential delays in configuration, integration, or content migration. These risks are mitigated through the framework arrangement that will onboard the incumbent supplier and the service continues.

There is also a framework compliance risk, as the incumbent is not on any framework, quick engagement with Consultancy + framework is important as the framework is due to expire on 30 September 2026. Delays in procurement could result in loss of access to this compliant route, requiring alternative procurement arrangements and introducing further delay.

Recommendation

Financial Summary (Annual cost)

• Product / Service Subscription: £72,417.25 per annum
Total Year 1 Fees: £49895.80 (maintenance & support), £25,000 (allowance for additional project work) £72,417.25 TOTAL (Including Consultancy+ Fee)
Total Year 2 Fees: £49895.80 (maintenance & support), £25,000 (allowance for additional project work) £72,417.25 TOTAL (Including Consultancy+ Fee)
Total Year 3 Fees: As Above
Total Year 4 Fees: As above

Decision

That the Executive Director of Place approve the award of a contract to Consultancy Plus for the provision of a suitable consultancy service to provide website support, maintenance, project support and advice for the Visitlincolnshire.com and business.visitlincolnshire.com through Energy Cell. Alongside hosting and technical support until 31st March 2028 with the possibility of two further 12 month extensions up to 31st March 2030 with a total contract value of £289,669 if the extension years are taken. The contract award is made following a compliant procurement process via the YPO - Managing Consultancy and Professional Services-1141 Framework.
That the Executive Director of Place delegates authority to the Head of Economic Development Growth to take all decisions regarding this procurement up to and including execution of the contract.

That the Executive Director of Place delegates authority to Head of Economic Development Growth 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 is not viable. A website support and maintenance of VisitLincolnshire.com and business.visitlincolnshire.com must remain in place to allow continuity of service. Failure to procure a system would result in serious service disruption and an unacceptable risk to service continuity.

The 17% click through rate to a booking demonstrates that visitlincolnshire.com generates business. Its reliability to Lincolnshire’s visitor economy is therefore a vital support mechanism to them, it is in effect our tourism ‘shop window’, any down time would result in them losing business. The potential visitor is essentially quite fickle, they expect a fast efficient booking service and if they don’t get it they will quickly move off to make a booking elsewhere – trade lost to Lincolnshire. There would also be reputational damage to Lincolnshire County Council.
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, timely, 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 System must be procured through a competitive or framework-based process.

FRAMEWORKS
Utilising framework suppliers offers significant advantages. These suppliers have already met stringent suitability criteria, encompassing organisational standards, compliance with pre-defined terms, and service provision aligned with the framework specification. This pre-qualification simplifies the procurement process, leading to reduced administrative burden, and mitigated risks associated with supplier negotiation of contract terms. Consultancy Plus via the YPO Framework (1141) resonate with the requirement of the Council.

Other frameworks considered were:

CCS G-Cloud 14 (RM1557.14): Provides access to a wide range of digital suppliers; however, appointing a new supplier would likely require full transition and redevelopment, creating cost, time, and service continuity risks.
CCS Digital Outcomes and Specialists (RM6263): Suitable for project-based digital delivery, but less appropriate for a fully managed, ongoing website platform and would introduce additional complexity.
Rationale: The YPO Framework (1141) enables a compliant route to onboard the incumbent supplier, ensuring continuity, minimising risk, and avoiding unnecessary transition costs.