Purpose

The Council is currently progressing the review of its Local Plan and is expected to carry out the final stage of public consultation during Autumn 2026. The Council also conducts public consultation exercises on other Planning Policy documents and therefore requires a robust and reliable online consultation platform to receive, manage and analyse representations from residents, statutory consultees and other stakeholders.
The Council has used the JDi Solutions OpusConsult system since 2023. The system has operated effectively over the past three years and continues to meet the Council’s operational requirements. Retention of the platform will support the efficient delivery of statutory planning consultations and provide a stable solution throughout the transition to Local Government Reorganisation.

The following benefits will be realised:
1)Continuity - The existing system fulfils all requirements of the Planning Policy consultation process. As the Council is at a critical stage of the Local Plan Review, changing systems at this time would be disruptive, requiring officer training, system familiarisation and the migration of existing consultation data.
2)Compliance with data security and accessibility standards. JDi Solutions complies with relevant cyber security, data protection and accessibility standards. An initial Data Protection Risk Assessment was completed when the system was first procured, and the system was considered low risk. The software incorporates a number of GDPR safeguards which help minimise the risk of human error when processing personal data.
3)Value for Money. The costs quoted by JDi Solutions are lower than those of other comparable systems available through the G-Cloud 14 Framework and avoid the additional implementation, training and migration costs associated with changing supplier.
4)Customer Service. Council officers have worked directly with JDi Solutions since 2023 and have found the company’s support service to be responsive, reliable and flexible in meeting operational requirements.
5)Compliant procurement route. The proposed direct award is being undertaken through the Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 14 Framework in accordance with the Council’s procurement rules of procedure.
6)Existing budget provision. The contract can be funded from existing Planning budgets and does not require additional financial provision.

Decision

To procure the JDi Solutions OpusConsult software directly (direct award) through the Crown Commercial Service G-Cloud 14 Framework (Lot 2) for an initial period of two years, with an option to extend for a further two years (1 + 1 years).

Alternative options considered

In light of the Local Government Reorganisation programme and the proposed timetable, a direct award through the G-Cloud 14 Framework is considered the most appropriate option to ensure continuity of service during the transition period. Retaining the existing system will avoid the disruption and resource implications associated with implementing an alternative platform at this stage and will provide a stable solution until future arrangements for planning consultation systems are determined as part of Local Government Reorganisation.