North Yorkshire Council
Executive Members
20 June 2023
English National Concessionary Travel Scheme Procurement of
Back Office Systems
Report of the Assistant Director, Integrated Passenger Transport, Countryside Access, Licensing and Harbours
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To update the Corporate Director of Environment and Executive Member for Highways and Transportation on re-procurement of the English National Concessionary Travel (ENCTS) (Concessionary Bus Passes) Back Office System and to seek permission to undertake a procurement exercise for the same.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 The ENCTS is a statutory national scheme offering free off-peak bus travel to all those who qualify by age or disability criteria. Local authorities are required to provide smart enabled bus passes that meet a specification set by set by the Department for Transport to all qualifying residents and renew all passes after no more than five years.
3.0 PROCUREMENT OF ENCTS BACKOFFICE SYSTEM
3.1 We are currently in the final available extension period of the existing contract with ACT Fujitsu. This contract will expire at the end of March 2024. The current supplier is considering leaving the market and we need to seek a new supplier for these services.
3.2 There are three elements within the current contract:
· Customer and pass/permit record management
· Card production
· Host Operator Processing System (HOPS)
3.3 North Yorkshire Council currently act as lead authority for City of York Council in the provision of the first two elements.
3.4 An RFI (Request for Information) detailing core requirements was issued by Strategic Resources in late 2021 to understand the market for this type of system and services. In 2022 it became apparent that that the incumbent supplier would likely be exiting the market. There would no longer be a Direct Award option using the G-Cloud framework, making it necessary to go out to the market via further competition.
3.5 Following advice from the Procurement Team an established national framework, the Smart Applications Management (SAM) framework will be used to procure the three backoffice functions required via mini competitions.
3.6 When the procurement process started it was not expected that the total value would exceed the £500,000 threshold requiring a key decision. However, following revised calculations this is now expected to be the case and an urgent decision is sought in order to get to market as early as possible and allow maximum mobilisation time to integrate the new software with existing Council systems.
4.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
4.1 Provision of ENCTS bus passes is a statutory duty, meaning a replacement supplier is necessary and there is no “do nothing” option.
4.2 Our current supplier was not willing to extend the current contract beyond 2024 and indicated they may be leaving the market meaning a new procurement was required.
4.3 Alternative procurement strategies were considered, including tendering via open procedure or use of other frameworks. The number of experienced suppliers in the market is small, all main suppliers are on the SAM framework, and this is considered to be the best approach to market for our requirements.
5.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
5.1 The current annual budget for these functions is £106,200. The indicative costings suggest there will be a natural increase when compared to the previous contract value, currently this is estimated at £506,000 over 4 years. This is a statutory function, and any increase will be managed as part of the Integrated Passenger ENCTS Transport budget.
5.2 Value for money will be ensured by utilising a framework to conduct a further competition exercise which will allow evaluation of bid pricing to determine best value and performance.
6.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 Proceeding with this procurement will allow the Council to continue to provide Concessionary bus passes to the required specifications set by the Department for Transport and specifically the
6.2 The SAM framework we propose to use is a compliant route to market under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCRs).
7.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
7.2 Continuing to provide concessionary bus passes will avoid any adverse impact to groups of people with protected characteristics.
8.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
8.1 Consideration has been given to the potential for any adverse climate impacts arising from this decision (see Appendix B).
8.2 Re-procuring backoffice software systems is not expected to have any adverse climate impacts and continuing to offer free bus passes will encourage travel by more sustainable means.
9.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
9.1 Provision of these backoffice systems is necessary to meet our statutory obligation to provide concessionary bus passes to government standards. The procurement approach to use a national framework will offer best value and performance and is a compliant route to market under the PCRs.
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10.0 |
RECOMMENDATION
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10.1 |
It is recommended that the Corporate Director of Environment, in consultation with the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation agrees to proceed with the re-procurement of a new backoffice system to meet our statutory obligations in relation to the governments ENCTS scheme.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Equalities Impact Assessment
Appendix B – Climate Change Impact Assessment
PAUL THOMPSON
Assistant Director – Integrated Passenger Transport, Countryside Access, Licensing and Harbours
Report author: Andrew Clarke, Public and Community Transport Manager
Background documents: None
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Initial equality impact assessment screening form This form records an equality screening process to determine the relevance of equality to a proposal, and a decision whether or not a full EIA would be appropriate or proportionate.
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Directorate |
Environment |
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Service area |
Integrated Passenger Transport |
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Proposal being screened |
English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) Procurement of Back Office System |
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Officer(s) carrying out screening |
Andy Clarke |
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What are you proposing to do? |
Re-procure backoffice software and card bureau services to continue to issue bus passes to residents that meet government standards. |
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Why are you proposing this? What are the desired outcomes? |
The council has a statutory obligation to issue ENCTS travel passes to people eligible for the concession that reside within the authority area. The council will therefore be fulfilling its statutory obligations. |
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Does the proposal involve a significant commitment or removal of resources? Please give details. |
no
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Impact on people with any of the following protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010, or NYCC’s additional agreed characteristics As part of this assessment, please consider the following questions: · To what extent is this service used by particular groups of people with protected characteristics? · Does the proposal relate to functions that previous consultation has identified as important? · Do different groups have different needs or experiences in the area the proposal relates to?
If for any characteristic it is considered that there is likely to be an adverse impact or you have ticked ‘Don’t know/no info available’, then a full EIA should be carried out where this is proportionate. You are advised to speak to your Equality rep for advice if you are in any doubt.
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Protected characteristic |
Potential for adverse impact |
Don’t know/No info available |
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Yes |
No |
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Age |
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X |
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Disability |
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X |
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Sex |
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X |
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Race |
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X |
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Sexual orientation |
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X |
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Gender reassignment |
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X |
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Religion or belief |
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X |
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Pregnancy or maternity |
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X |
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Marriage or civil partnership |
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X |
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People in rural areas |
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X |
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People on a low income |
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X |
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Carer (unpaid family or friend) |
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X |
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Does the proposal relate to an area where there are known inequalities/probable impacts (e.g. disabled people’s access to public transport)? Please give details. |
This will allow the council to continue to provide bus passes allowing older and disabled residents to access free bus travel. |
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Will the proposal have a significant effect on how other organisations operate? (e.g. partners, funding criteria, etc.). Do any of these organisations support people with protected characteristics? Please explain why you have reached this conclusion. |
no |
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Decision (Please tick one option) |
EIA not relevant or proportionate: |
ü
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Continue to full EIA: |
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Reason for decision |
Consideration has been given to the potential for any adverse equality impacts arising from the project.
There is no intention to make changes to the public facing elements of the process and no significant effect on how other organisations operate.
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Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent) |
Paul Thompson |
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Date |
3/6/2023 |
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Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment (Form created August 2021)
The intention of this document is to help the council to gain an initial understanding of the impact of a project or decision on the environment. This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. Dependent on this initial assessment you may need to go on to complete a full Climate Change Impact Assessment. The final document will be published as part of the decision-making process.
If you have any additional queries, which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk
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Title of proposal |
English National Concessionary Travel Scheme Procurement of Back Office Systems |
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Brief description of proposal |
As a Travel Concession Authority, NYC has a statutory obligation to produce English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) passes that comply with the standard design specified in the Concessionary Bus Travel (Permits) (England) Regulations 2008 and issue such passes to residents that can provide proof of their eligibility.
The current contract for back office systems ends on 31 March 2024. A re-procurement exercise is underway for a new supplier to deliver our requirements from April 2024 onwards. The contract has three elements:
· Customer and pass/permit record management · Card production · Host Operator Processing System (HOPS)
In line with NYC requirement to manage customer contact online, an interface currently exists between the NYC online portal, the existing customer and the pass/permit record management system. This system also interfaces with the third-party pass/permit production supplier.
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Directorate |
Environment |
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Service area |
IPT |
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Lead officer |
Catherine Price |
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Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment |
Andrew Clarke Public & Community Transport Manager |
The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.
Remember to think about the following;
· Travel
· Construction
· Data storage
· Use of buildings
· Change of land use
· Opportunities for recycling and reuse
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Environmental factor to consider |
For the county council |
For the county |
Overall |
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Green House Gas emissions |
No effect on emissions |
No Effect on emissions |
No effect on emissions |
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Waste |
No effect on waste |
No effect on waste |
No effect on waste |
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Water use |
No effect on water usage |
No effect on water usage |
No effect on water usage |
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Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light) |
No effect on pollution |
No effect on pollution |
No effect on pollution |
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Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc) |
No effect on resilience |
No effect on resilience |
No effect on resilience |
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Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc) |
No effect on ecology |
No effect on ecology |
No effect on ecology |
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Heritage and landscape |
No effect on heritage and landscape |
No effect on heritage and landscape |
No effect on heritage and landscape |
If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.
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Decision (Please tick one option) |
Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate: |
√ |
Continue to full CCIA: |
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Reason for decision |
The project is to re-procure existing software and card bureau services meeting Department for Transport guidance to allow the council to fulfil its statutory duty. No climate impact is envisaged. |
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Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent) |
Paul Thompson, Integrated Passenger Transport, Countryside Access, Licensing and Harbours |
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Date |
07/06/2023 |
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