The tender tender.

Future of the Parking Service update - 13 December

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 09:57 
Henderson, James

As you are aware, the Council is currently in the final stages of the procurement of Parking Enforcement and Related Services. Indeed it is.

A recommendation for the award of contract will be made to the Cabinet Resources Committee on 14 December 2011 and this will be followed by a five day call-in period. Mr Mustard will observe with interest. Let's hope that all of the councillors have carefully read all of the papers.

We expect to formally inform bidding organisations of the outcome during week commencing the 3 January 2012. That will make someone's year.

There will then be a 10 day Alcatel period for any bidders to consider a response to our decision. Bidders will also be given the opportunity to receive detailed feedback on their bids. The Alcatel period is a 10 day standstill period set out by the EU to allow unlucky bidders to find out why they lost and take action.

During the tender process, all staff within scope of the procurement have been regularly updated with information regarding the progress of the tender. In the most general of terms.

Given the publicity and commercial sensitivity surrounding this tender, it is important that parking staff do not discuss any aspects of the tender or related operational matters with individuals or organisations outside of the council. As if they would be so unprofessional as to do this.

This relates particularly to members of the media and of course parking companies. Bloggers are media!

Should you be contacted by any outside organisations regarding the tender, please refer them in the first instance to Martyn Carter, Procurement Manager in the Corporate Procurement Team.

Should you need any further information in relation to communication with individuals or organisations, please contact either Martyn, John McArdle or Declan Hoare. If you are about to be forced to work in East Croydon against your wishes, tell who you like.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Security - every 3 years - nothing happens

I hope that you have all read Mrs Angry's blog post here about tenders for security services mysteriously not being completed in 2006.

Fast forward to 2009 and the following Delegated Powers Report.

click to enlarge; back to return

So did that DPR end up with a security contract? It seems not.

Fast forward again to the post MetPro panic. What is happening. Well a temporary arrangement was made ( popular those arrangements - much quicker than boring formal contracts that take ages to negotiate ) to extend another security providers service under emergency powers and to arrange a tender of security services which will doubtless take us into 2012. So every 3 years a tender of security is organised, at what cost? and then it falls down a crack in the pavement and never results in a formal signed contract. Here is DPR 1315 which mentions the proposed tender:

Ooh look, Captain Craig Cooper signed this DPR. An ugly rumour reached Mr Mustard that Captain Cooper is no longer flavour of the month, if he ever was?, and that he is off to join a new regiment. It might be less dangerous off the One Barnet battlefield Mr Cooper. Do let Mr Mustard know if you are about to break camp so that you get a suitable send-off. If Captain Cooper does depart this could well be the reason why the security contract doesn't come to fruition yet again and bloggers are still blogging about MetPro in 2015. The stuff of nightmares.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard