Agenda item

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources seeking approval for officers to begin the process of a mini competition under the Rotherham Enforcement and Debt Collection Service Framework. The existing contract under the Rotherham Enforcement and Debt Collection Services Framework was due to expire on 31March 2019. To ensure enforcement action could continue, a procurement process for Enforcement Agent services was required.

The report indicated that for many years the Council had used the services of external Enforcement Agent Companies as a last resort to recover the various debts it was owed.

Most people payed the Council on time but some tried to delay payment for as long as possible. However, the Council recognised that many people and businesses in our community faced challenges in the current economic climate, particularly in the light of welfare reform changes. To assist in mitigating these challenges, the Council had included a number of support procedures within the debt collection process and the report outlined these support procedures.

The Council complied with all relevant Government legislation that governed the collection of debt and applied best practice to Council Tax debt collection, as recommended by the Local Government Association.

Decision Made:       That

(1)          the procurement process of a mini competition under the EU procurement regime compliant Rotherham Enforcement and Debt Collection Services Framework, be approved;

(2)          the decision on which Enforcement Agent companies will be awarded the contract for enforcement and debt collection services and the contract for warrants of arrest without bail, be delegated to the Head of Corporate Resources; and

(3)          the Monitoring Officer be authorised to draw up the appropriate contracts to run for a period of 3 years, with an option to extend for one year.

Reasons for the Decision:

Existing contracts are due to expire on 31March 2019. Enforcement Agents are a vital additional resource for the collection of unpaid debt due to the Council.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

1.            The option of not appointing a contractor was considered but dismissed. This was because the Authority cannot risk not collecting a sizeable percentage of its annual income without the support of Enforcement Agents.

2.            The Council could conduct an EU procurement regime compliant exercise, approaching the whole market directly. This option however would require a much longer timescale as the tender opportunity would need to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Further, the volume of bids submitted is unpredictable and so in addition to managing a longer advertising period, officers could easily find that evaluation of bids also takes a much longer period. This could prove problematic as the existing contracts expire on 31/03/2019 and would be an inefficient use of the Council’s resources. Therefore, this option has been rejected.

3.            Contracts can also be awarded under a concession agreement with direct awards to successful bidders. However, there is a limit to the value of the contracts that can awarded as a concession based on the value over the lifetime of the contracts. It has been assessed that the potential value of the contracts would exceed the OJEU threshold. A tender process would still be required by way of advertisement via OJEU that would open the process to unlimited competition and would be an inefficient use of the Council’s resources. This is also likely to extend the timescale to procure services which could negatively impact on the collections process.