Purpose

The report seeks authority to go out to tender
to procure and delegate the award for an enforcement Contract. The
contract will deliver additional environmental and highways
enforcement support. This additional resource will deliver improved
local environmental quality, through reducing incidences of
environmental and Highways offences, increasing the number of fixed
penalty Notices (FPNs) as required.

Decision

For the reasons set out in
the report, Cabinet RESOLVED to Agree:
 

i) 
To commence the procurement for the letting of a
concession contract for contracted enforcement services in line
with the procurement approach set out in section 5 for a period of
2 years (with the option of an additional two-year extension),
commencing January 2024 at an estimated contract value of
£1.1 million per annum.

 

ii) 
To delegate authority to the Corporate Director of
Environment & Sustainable Transport in consultation with the
Lead Member Community Safety for the award and implementation of
the Contracted Enforcement Concession contract as set out in this
report.
 
iii) 
The performance to date of the Pilot Environmental
Enforcement contract as set out in section 3 of this
report
 
iv) 
To extend existing contract for a period of six months for reasons
set out in S5.2
 
Alternatives
Considered
 
a) Do nothing
 
If the decision
were taken not to procure a new contracted enforcement contract,
then there would be significant risks that would need to be
mitigated. The contract has delivered on average of 500 FPN’s
per month with a visible team of officers working seven days per
week, day and during the evenings. Failure to put in place an
equivalent resource would reduce the deterrent for those who would
commit environmental crime in the borough. There is a strong
possibility that the behavioural change that we have seen, and
improved street cleanliness would go backwards.
 
In addition, the
current contact generates revenue that is ring-fenced to cleansing
and enforcement functions.
 
b)
Commence procurement of an external enforcement contract in line
with the proposal identified in this report – the
recommended option

 
The current
delivery model has proven to have delivered improved environmental
outcomes for the borough's residents. The contract has seen an
increased uniformed presence on the borough's streets that
complements our own in-house offer. The contract has been delivered
on a cost neutral basis delivering an income of £0.4m to LBN
in 2022/23, over the duration of the pilot (9 months). This income
supported the wider delivery of enforcement services. Continuation
with an external provider would allow Newham to test the market to
ensure that the successful bidder represents best value for the
authority, is best placed to continue to support the delivery of
improved environmental outcomes on a financially risk-free basis.
We also now can determine whether the market is able to offer
ancillary services under a similar contract regarding highways
enforcement.
 
c)
Provide a comparative service utilising internal
resource.
 
An alternative
option could be for the Authority could consider delivering a
comparable in-house service. At present, this option is not
recommended for the following reasons:
 
- 
The Council is not able to offer an equivalent IT (Information
Technology) and systems offer. The contracted market has a
well-developed and bespoke offer for the issuance and processing of
FPNs, prosecutions and administration. Our in-house teams still use
legacy and physical systems. Until this is resolved and modernised,
we would not be able to issue and process at the current volumes in
the contract.
 
- 
The Council is not resourced to deliver an equivalent service at
present. Newham does not have equivalent job descriptions or
officers employed internally. A full-service design would need to
be undertaken and then staff recruited. The market for enforcement
officers is extremely competitive following the introduction of the
Private Sector Rental enforcement activities and likelihood of
recruiting several officers at the scale required represents a
risk. In addition, the cost per officer per issue for an
internalised service is greater due to on costs. The current
contract is delivered on a cost neutral basis at no risk to the
Council. To deliver an equivalent in house offer would create a
financial risk to the Council that would need to be managed and
mitigated.