Formal Meeting of Cabinet Member for Community Safety Part 1 23 October 2002 Item 03 Database Software for the Community Safety Warden Service Purpose To approve the purchase of 10,000 worth of software as an exception to Financial Regulations. Author Head of Public Protection and Environmental Services Wards Affected All Summary The Estate Ranger Service needs to replace its existing database system to meet the requirements of its expansion into the Community Safety Warden Service. In consultation with Information Service and Communications (approximately two years ago), a search of the market was undertaken to identify suitable products and none was found. One company, Intec for Business, were keen to follow up the idea and after some initial dialogue about modifying an existing product have since carried out their own research and wish to finalise the development of a new database to fill the gap in the commercial market. Intec would like to develop the product with input from the Estate Ranger Service, and in return have proposed a reimbursement package for the service to recoup its purchase costs. The software that is being developed is unique. INTEC have developed this system during the past two years. There is no other suitable product in the market for handling incidents responses. The Estate Ranger/Community Safety Warden Service is ideally placed to support the development of such a product, a point not lost on Intec, and this proposal will allow the Service to acquire a bespoke system, eventually at no cost. The input from Newport City Council do date has been minimal (four days in two years) and no formal arrangements have been implemented. The Company has sold five systems since May 2002 and has just employed a full time officer to market the system. The software is compliant with BS 7666 and is capable of interfacing with the Customer Reltions Management System of the proposed Call Centre. An exception to current regulations is being sought on the grounds that there are no other equivalent products on the market from which to acquire quotes and the 'no cost' offer from Intec could not be bettered in any event. Proposed Action To authorise the purchase of the Intec Database
Contact Richard Winfield 01633 214415 richard.winfield@newport.gov.ukil Action By: Stephen Davison Head of Public Protection and Environmental Services Action Timetable: As soon as practicable. Declaration I have determined this matter for implementation, subject to the 'call-in' procedure Signed..(Cabinet Member) Date Checklist and supporting information are attached
Consultation Check List The Council requires that each report prepared for consideration by its Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Forums is the subject of appropriate consultation before submission. The following check- list has been completed accordingly by the report author as a summary of consultation undertaken/ considered. From the drop-down list, please select YES, NO or N/A, as appropriate Mandatory Consultation Monitoring Officer Yes Section 151 Officer Yes Head of Human Resources and Policy Yes Other Relevant Consultation (as appropriate) Other Heads of Service (Please Specify in the report) Yes (Please Specify in the report) Other Cabinet Members/Chairmen/Committees/Overview & Scrutiny Forums (Please Specify in the report) No Ward Members No (Please Specify in the report) Outside Agencies: consultation required by statute or accepted policies and practices of the Council (Please Specify in the report) N/A Other Considerations (Mandatory) Is the report in conformity with the Council's policy framework? (If not, the matter must be reported to the Council.) Yes Background Papers attached Yes
Supporting Information Database Software for the Community Safety Warden Service Background 1 The current database used by the Estate Ranger Service was purchased five years ago and is an off-the-shelf commercial product, called Respond that was designed for business complaints handling. It was brought into service with the Estate Rangers because it was the only product on the market that could satisfactorily record anti-social behaviour incidents in the format required by the Rangers. The primary function of the database meant that much of its capability was redundant to the Rangers and some functions the Rangers required, especially its ability to provide reports, were unavailable. Despite its shortcomings, Respond proved to be a valuable management tool and has served the Authority well. 2 The forthcoming expansion of the Estate Rangers into the Community Safety Warden Service will see a marked increase (250%) in incidents that need recording on the database, which will be beyond the capacity of Respond to manage effectively. The expansion, therefore, provides a need and an opportunity to replace the system. A trawl of the commercial products by Information Systems and Communications (approximately two years ago) has revealed that no new system has been introduced. 3 During the search one company, Intec for Business, offered up a product that they have successfully marketed with other Authorities, which deals with Social Services and Housing Benefits case handling. This product did not quite meet the Community Safety Warden Service requirement but Intec were willing to consider some superficial modifications to accommodate its needs. During the dialogue that followed, Intec recognised a gap in the commercial market and after some of their own research were keen to do more than simply modify their existing product and instead wanted to develop a completely new database. The company have spent two years developing a system capable of fulfilling service requirements to record and support the reduction in incidents of anti-social behaviour. Intec also recognised that Newport, through the Estate Rangers were one of the leading authorities in the country in anti-social behaviour recording and were keen to make use of their expertise. Intec, therefore, proposed to develop the system with expert input by the Estate Ranger Service. This was an informal agreement and involved very Iimited officer time (four days in two years) and there were no cost implications to the Authority. The INTEC data base has been developed to such an extent that it is now capable of supporting neighbourhood warden schemes. INTEC have suggested that the informal arrangements are now formalised as the last element of the systems development is undertaken. The proposed partnership would involve the Estate Ranger Service in supporting the development of the system (in situe) and in return, if Newport City Council purchased the database, Intec would refund all purchase costs in stages dependent upon their other sales successes. See Appendix 1. The company has sold five systems since May 2002 and has recently employed one FTE to market the product. 4 The procedure for obtaining quotations is not feasible in this case. 5 The proposal by Intec is a good example of a Public-Private Sector partnership that gives a clear benefit to the citizens of Newport. Funding 6 The first year s costs of 10,000 will include the purchase of the database, installation and training and a helpline/maintenance agreement. See Appendix 1. The initial costs will be met from existing budgets and subsequently refunded over a period of time dependent on Intec s marketing success. 7 Intec s commitment is an indication of their optimistic marketing plans.
8 Options Available The available options are: Accept Intec s offer Continue with Respond. This database is now beyond its useful life and will not be able to cope with the increase in demand, or complexity of casework, following expansion of the service Purchase or upgrade another system, such as Respond. Other systems will not meet the specifications required and will naturally come at a cost. Develop our own database without Intec. This would be economically prohibitive and take a considerable amount of time and effort. Purchase Intec s database after development and without Newport s input. This would cost 10,000 and would not guarantee a bespoke system. 9 Preferred Option The preferred option is to accept Intec s offer. Intec have identified a gap in the market and will develop this product with or without Newport s input. Once developed it will be the only system of its type suitable for the Community Safety Warden Service. With no other competition on the market the Community Safety Warden Service will still be looking to purchase this product in the foreseeable future. The proposal by Intec not only allows the Service the invaluable opportunity to have the system designed for its specific needs but also refunds all outlay and effectively provides the database free of cost. 10 Comments by Head of Information Systems and Communication Information Systems and Communications would have obviously have preferred to have had a choice on products from recognised suppliers, but in this case this was not possible. The solution offered by INTEC would appear to be a good compromise given the need the Estate Ranger Service has. There are some concerns that the Council could end up with a bespoke product rather than have the flexibility of a modifiable package, and the Service must ensure that it covers all its needs in any statement of functionality; software amendment is an expensive process. Information Service and Communication Section have worked with the Estate Ranger Service on this project and I support the proposal to obtain a replacement system from INTEC for Business Limited. This Incident Management Software is compliant with all the current open system standards. Intec for business are confident that they can interface with the Oracle Customer Relations Management (CRM) system, Newport s chosen solution, and would have no problem working with the CRM supplier. It is noted that the Community Safety Warden Service is not included in either Phase 1 or 2 of the CRM project. The software is also compliant with BS 7666, the British Standards for Land and Property Gazetteer and therefore would interface with other compliant Graphical Information Systems.
11 Comments by Head of Finance and Scrutiny I confirm that the 10,000 can be found from currently approved budgets. This is because a number of staff have not been employed for a full year. The subsequent running costs of 2,500 p.a. will need to be built into future budgets. This may not be required, at least not for the first few years, should the company be successful in selling the product to others. The report gives sufficient reasons for me to be able to support the decision to go to INTEC for Business Limited. 12 Comments by Head of Law and Standards I am happy to support the use of this supplier for the reasons given in the report. Contract Standing Order 3, excepts from competitive tendering the purchase of services, which are available only from one supplier. Clearly this is not the case here and Contract Standing Orders will need to be suspended. RW/SD/IML-P/Database Software for Community Safety Warden Service