Purpose

Commence a procurement process for the provision of security services for the River of Light event for a period for 4 months commencing in August 2026 for a total estimated value of £0.14m.

Decision

For the reasons set out in this report, the Corporate Director has decided to:

1)    Commence a procurement process to appoint a suitably qualified provider for the provision of security services for the River of Light event for a period for 4 months commencing in September 2026 for a total estimated value of £0.14m.

Alternative options considered

“Do nothing” – Do nothing is not an option because the Council has a statutory duty to ensure the safety of the public, staff, and partners at all events it delivers. Without procuring external security services and given that the Council has no internal security capability, the event would not meet required safety, crowd management, or incident response standards. This would expose the organisation to significant risks, including non?compliance with theevent guidance, potential harm to attendees, reputational damage, and the possibility that the event could not proceed. Proactive procurement is therefore essential to uphold public safety, maintain operational resilience, and deliver an event that aligns with the Council’s priorities for safe public spaces and high?quality cultural programming.

“In house provision” – the Council does not operate an internal in?house security service. As such, all security provision for this event will require external procurement through an appointed contractor.