Agenda and decisions

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To receive any apologies for absence.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear).

That Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources:

Approved, in accordance with Contract Standing Order (CSOs) 18.03.3, 2.01(d) and 0.08 a variation to the original award report for the contract with Netcall Technology Ltd for the delivery of the unified digital engagement platform.

This variation seeked to increase the contract value from £1,545,000 by £772,500.00 bringing the total contract value to £2,317,500. The contract remains for an initial period of five years, with the option to extend for a sixth year and a subsequent option to extend for a seventh year, should it be deemed beneficial; this variation also enables for purchasing of professional services needed to deliver Service Modernisation outcomes and savings.

The contract commenced 21st February 2025.

Reasons for decision

This report seeks approval for a variation to the original award of contract to Netcall Technology Ltd for the unified digital engagement platform, increasing the contract value by £772,500. While the original award set out the significant benefits of replacing the Council’s outdated Cisco telephony and Granicus CRM systems, further work within the Service Modernisation Portfolio has identified that an uplift in investment is necessary to fully unlock the scale of financial and operational benefits.

The variation does not alter the fundamental case for change, which remains critical: our existing systems are no longer fit for purpose, contracts are expiring, and continuing with them would limit the Council’s ability to deliver its strategic objectives. However, the additional investment will enable the Council to maximise the capability of the new platform, directly supporting delivery of the agreed £2.8m savings in the next financial year; savings which are projected to increase in subsequent years as the platform is embedded and further efficiencies are realised.

In addition, the variation addresses an urgent operational requirement to increase the number of concurrent users (licences) and SIP channels within the platform. The original contract assumed a lower level of capacity; however, demand modelling across Customer Services has demonstrated that higher capacity is essential if the Council is to meet resident demand effectively. Without this increase, there is a material risk of longer residents not being able to join queues & CSO’s not being able to access the platform leading to longer call wait times, reduced service levels, and reputational damage due to poor resident experience.

The additional investment therefore ensures that the platform is not only capable of delivering the same baseline savings originally anticipated but is also positioned to deliver significantly greater value for money, improved customer service and resident experience and long-term resilience for the Council’s digital services.

Alternative options considered

No viable alternatives were identified. The Council is contractually committed to the Unified Digital Engagement Platform following the original award to Netcall Technology Ltd, and this variation represents the only practical and cost-effective means of delivering the required functionality and capacity. Procuring an alternative system or reverting to legacy platforms would incur significant additional expense, cause major disruption to business-as-usual operations, and risk failure to deliver the savings and service improvements already built  ...  view the full decision text for item 6.

Item 8 is likely to be subject to a motion to exclude the press and public be from the meeting as it contains exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paras 3 and 5, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

That Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources considered and approved the exempt information.