Agenda item

Report of Corporate Director for Growth and City Development

Mark Jenkins, Head of Traffic and Flood Risk Management, presented the report, and stated the following:

a)  Yunex provides the Council with fixed ANPR enforcement devices which activate when a vehicle passes through a trigger point and records a video pack for evidential review;

b)  all suppliers in this market operate a ‘one stop shop’ or ‘closed system’ for enforcement to meet Department for Transport (DfT) licencing requirements. This means only they or their accredited engineering provider can work on their whole system, maintaining the integrity of the system to preserve the DfT certification;

c)  the Yunex proposal is to fix costs for 3 years of maintenance and the essential modification of 19 devices that currently communicate using 3G technology, which the government intends to phase out in 2024, meaning these units will no longer communicate with the system;

d)  the proposal also includes a move to a hosted review/fault management platform to improve efficiency in data management and evidence processing;

e)  moving to a hosted platform, and taking the software off council servers, where the platform currently resides, will aid data management and security, and improve operational efficiency as Yunex will no longer have to apply to the Council’s IT team for access to the server to fix an issue affecting the system;

f)  upgrading to a hosted platform will also ensure data integrity, removing the risk of evidence packs or encryption keys being lost when we have server issues;

g)  the upgrade will also lessen the workload on NCC’s IT department, and of MTE colleagues reporting faults etc, freeing them up to concentrate on further efficiency and performance improvements.

Resolved to

(1)  approve the purchase of a 3-year ‘maintenance agreement’, including modifications to 19 ANPR devices and provision of a hosted server, from the current supplier (Yunex) to enable continuation of a Department for Transport compliant enforcement system that is fully certified to issue Penalty Charge Notices to motorists that contravene bus lane and other moving traffic restrictions;

(2)   note that a formal review of future ANPR purchase / maintenance arrangements will be undertaken by Procurement and Traffic colleagues, with a further report being submitted to this Committee by no later than the April 2025 meeting.

Reasons for recommendations

a)  DfT require a formal maintenance arrangement to be in place to enable the enforcement system to be fully certified. Due to the integrity of the enforcement systems, 3rd parties cannot undertake any repair or maintenance activities on these closed systems. Therefore, in line with previous years we are seeking approval to renew the maintenance contract with our current supplier.

b)  To address some essential modifications to 19 ANPR devices and improve reliability and efficiency of the server platform, we are looking to secure a 3-year maintenance arrangement (October 2023 to September 2026) which would provide ‘Best Value’ and spread these modification costs over an extended period.

c)  The costs related to this proposed 3-year maintenance proposal are fully funded through the annual PCN income and underwritten by the ring-fenced reserve.

d)  The essential modifications to the 19 ANPR devices and the upgrade to a hosted review/fault management platform, ensures enforcement activities can be maintained, data security enhanced, operating efficiencies improved and PCN income is not adversely affected. (These essential modifications and upgrades can only be carried out by the current supplier due to DfT certification guidance).

Other options considered

a)  the option of changing operational arrangements and supplier were considered. However, due to the complex DfT compliance rules (no other company can maintain other suppliers’ enforcement equipment or systems) and the scale of the existing set-up with our current supplier, no suitable alternative could be achieved within the current renewal timeframe, so this option was rejected.