Agenda and draft minutes

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Local Investment referred to the notice of filming at meetings and this information was noted.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no deputations, petitions or questions.

Haringey Council sought to approve the extension of contract to DSI Billing Services Limited up to the contract value of £1.6m, to provide a secure print and mail service pursuant to Contract Standing Order 3.01 b). The Contract was procured via the CCS G-Cloud 12 framework in accordance with CSO 7.01 b) as it is a compliant public sector body framework.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Local Investment queried whether this was the best contract available. officers assured the Cabinet Member that several other local authorities procured from the same supplier and that a detailed analysis would be carried out before the next renewal to ensure this is still the best contract for the council’s needs. Officers also explained that this contract was a pull-down contract, and figures came in below the maximum amount.

RESOLVED

1. To approve the extension of a contract for secure printing and postal services for

Revenues, Benefits and Housing-related statutory services to DSI Billing Services

Limited, as permitted under Contract Standing Order 10.02.1b) for a period of 1

year, from 31 January 2024 to 30 January 2025 in the sum of £400,000 per

annum, up to a cumulative contract value of £1.2 million.

2. To delegate authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and

Local Investment, to the Assistant Director, Corporate and Customer Services to

approve a further extension of 1 year, from 31 January 2025 to 30 January 2026

for the sum of £400,000, up to a total contract value of £1.6 million.

3. The first extension will commence on 31 January 2024 and the contract will expire

on 30 January 2026, if all options to extend are taken.

Reasons for decision

The current contract expired on 31 January 2024. DSI Billing Services Limited specialised in high-volume mail solutions for Revenues, Benefit and related services, and provide secure printing and postal services for Council Tax, Business Rates and Housing Benefit overpayment bills and recovery notices. They also undertook printing for the Housing Service.

The extension of this contract would result in a fixed-unit cost for production which

will spare the authority index-linked price increases and maintains economies of

scale even where volumes of outbound correspondence continue to fall. The

only variable element of unit cost was the postage, which was determined by Royal

Mail. The unit cost of the service under the new contract does not vary from the

current unit cost. The procurement aligned with the wider digital strategy and other services can benefit from this service should they choose to do so during the contract period.

Alternative Options Considered

Full tender exercise – this was discounted due to the timescales in implementing this approach and given consideration that procurement through a framework had allowed the Council to take advantage of accumulated pricing based on the

framework.

Do nothing – this was not possible as the existing contract expired and the

Council has a statutory requirement to issue notices for Revenues and Benefit

under the Local Government Finance Act 1992  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.