Agenda item

To award a contract for ‘Civica Cx Case Management System’.

Resolved:-

1.1 That the Director of Borough Economy, in consultation with the Director of Finance - Section 151 Officer, be authorised to award a contract for ‘Civica Cx Case Management System’ to be procured via a direct award of contract using Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Data and Applications Solutions framework RM3821 and be awarded for a five year period with an option to extend for a further two years.

1.2 That the Director Law and Governance – Monitoring Officer be

authorised to execute any documentation necessary to enable the action referred to in 1.1 above.

1.3 That any necessary exemptions to the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules be made to enable the course of action referred to in 1.1 above to proceed.

                  See Minute No. 2/23 Cabinet Member for Communities 19 April 2023.

Approval was sought for the authorisation to award a contract for ‘Civica Cx Case Management System’ to be procured via a direct award of contract using Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Data and Applications Solutions framework RM3821 for a five year period with an option to extend for a further two years.

                  The Chair of the Budget and Corporate Scrutiny Management Board questioned why the Council did not currently have a single case management system. In response, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources stated that there was not a single software application which met all the business requirements of the Council. Each service area of the Council had their own core data requirements, business processes, interfaces with other systems and transactions which could not be provided by a single system. However, where there were synergies the Council sought to utilise systems across services/directorates, as demonstrated in this proposal where a single system was being proposed for services across three directorates that work together.

                  A further question was asked on what the proposed case management system offered in comparison to others. In response, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources explained that the system proposed is an upgrade to the new version of the current software system from Civica to Civica Cx. It was the only system on the market which provided all the functionality that the current system had, to meet the business requirements of the different services, but with upgraded functionality around customer interface and remote working. The system would allow these services to be able to share/view agreed information and to analyse data better to manage services, understand demand management and use data intelligently. In addition, as an upgrade the implementation and data migration would be undertaken more efficiently minimising system downtime and demands on staff capacity.

                  Reasons for Decision

The Civica software system was currently used as a case management system for Regulated Services and Environmental Protection & Enforcement within the Borough Economy Directorate. The system was also utilised by Housing Improvement Agency and Private Sector Housing within the Housing and Public Health Directorates.

A contract was awarded in March 2020 for the provision of CIVICA software for a period of two years with provision for two single year extensions. This included the option to upgrade the system to Cx, however this was not actioned.

In March 2022, one of the single year extensions was enacted to extend the contract for the provision of Civica software system to the end of March 2023.

The services considered their future case management

requirements and had identified that the Civica software system, upgraded to the Cx system.

                  Alternative Options Considered

                  An open market procurement process could be considered however Corporate Procurement have identified that the service required was available via a Crown Commercial Services Framework. This provided a compliant and cost effective means of procuring the service. Direct awarding and procurement from the CCS framework was compliant with Public Contract Regulations 2015.

Doing nothing was not an option. The provision of a case management system for these service areas was essential to support modern service delivery.      

Agreed:-

(1)     that the Director of Borough Economy, in consultation with the Director of Finance - Section 151 Officer, be authorised to award a contract for ‘Civica Cx Case Management System’ to be procured via a direct award of contract using Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Data and Applications Solutions framework RM3821 and be awarded for a five year period with an option to extend for a further two years.

(2)     that the Director Law and Governance – Monitoring Officer be authorised to execute any documentation necessary to enable the action referred to in (1) above.

(3)     that any necessary exemptions to the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules be made to enable the course of action referred to in (1) above to proceed.