Agenda item

Report to follow.

B Hosier introduced the item and explained it was requested that the performance of this contract was reported to this committee every six months for the first two years of the contract. He drew member’s attention to section 2 of the agenda where the ten KPI’s could be found. He advised there were three KPI’s that the contractor had failed on which were highlighted in red. He explained that there was a high turnover of staff in that industry due to the nature of the role and the abuse they can receive.

Councillor Tindall asked if there was a plan in place in case the staffing issue wasn’t resolved. B Hosier said the contractor has held open days at the Job Centre and have attended job fairs so they’re actively trying to resolve the issue. Councillor Tindall then asked what the risk was to us if the contractor continues to lose money trying to fulfil their obligations and then can’t continue with the contract.  B Hosier said they were in constant dialogue with the contractor to ensure that doesn’t happen and they had discussed some options to consider. He added that the number of PCN’s had increased recently so that could either mean that more people are parking inconsiderately or more are being caught.

Councillor Tindall said he had noticed members of the public parking in the upper deck of the Water Gardens during the working week when it is permit holders only. He asked whether we had considered increasing the signage. B Hosier advised there was a sign on the approach to the upper deck and further two signs within the upper deck. The machines have signs on them and also won’t allow you to make payment during the week. B Hosier said despite that, they were considering more signage to make it clearer for the public.

Councillor Stevens asked how many civil enforcement officers they should have according to the contract.  B Hosier replied it was the hour’s equivalent to 6.8 people; this has decreased due to new technology.

Councillor Chapman asked how long the contract was. B Hosier advised it was a 5 + 5 year contract which included a break clause.

Councillor Chapman referred to the KPI’s and asked if we could review the contractor’s performance if they weren’t achieving their targets. B Hosier advised that from April 2019, the second year of the contract, they have added a further 5 KPI’s making it 15, and that will increase to 18 in the third year. He said all the KPI’s were relevant to the service delivery and was a standard form of contract from the British Parking Association which was used all over the country. 

The Chairman asked if the contractors used electric vehicles. B Hosier advised they used a very small and economic vehicle. However as part of the council’s commitment to a sustainable environment they were meeting with the contractors tomorrow to discuss the potential of using electric vehicles.

The Chairman asked if we were losing money due to the contractors being understaffed. B Hosier explained that we were paid £25 per hour for each civil enforcement officer not in position, however the purpose of the service was to stop people parking inconsiderately rather than to generate income. He said ideally we wouldn’t be asking for money back from the contractors as we would rather that they were delivering the contract above our performance indicators.

Councillor Adeleke asked what would happen legally if a civil enforcement officer was assaulted. B Hosier advised that it was a criminal offence so the contractor could prosecute but fortunately there had been no incidents of violence so far in Dacorum. He added that they discussed the officer’s health and safety regularly. V Coady advised that the officers do sometimes wear body cameras and M Brookes said any incidents should be reported to the police.

Councillor Tindall said he had previously raised the point of the charging bays on the upper deck of the Water Gardens no longer being accessible for DBC staff due to the way the car park was divided. He asked if there was any update on this.

B Hosier advised that they were in contact with the service provider and they had looked at getting the existing charging points upgraded to make it faster to charge vehicles which is of no cost to the council. He said we had requested two more charging points on the upper deck in the white zone and two on the lower deck for members of the public to use. However, as the council is in the process of constructing a multi storey car park in Berkhamsted we are in contract to install charging points in there so that will take precedence. He advised he would have to come back to them with a date for the charging points in the Water Gardens car park.

Councillor Townsend asked if it was possible for the council to buy the charging points directly rather than go through a contract and a service provider. B Hosier said we could investigate that and produce a report but he had been advised by other local authorities that it takes roughly 6-7 years to break even on the cost of purchasing, installing and maintaining the equipment before starting to make an income. B Hosier added that technology moves at such a fast pace and he wouldn’t want to incur charges for the council and take that financial risk.

Councillor Taylor asked if it was possible for the council to look at alternative providers. He said he drove a hybrid vehicle and had to pay a membership cost per month whether he uses the charging points or not. B Hosier advised we could look at alternatives which could be cheaper for the public but that may have financial implications for the council. Councillor Taylor asked that this information is shared with the committee if and when it has been investigated.

Councillor Stevens asked if the civil enforcement officers were employed by the contractors or were agency staff. B Hosier advised they were directly employed by the contractors on a full time basis. Agency staff were only used if someone has left and cover is required.

Outcome:

The Committee noted the performance of the Parking Enforcement Contract over the last 10 months and acknowledged the additional KPI’s that are applicable from year 2.