Decision details

The contract for the income system used to collect card payments via telephone and internet expires on 19 August 2021. The system cannot be procured from an alternative supplier, so a competitive tender is not an option in this case.

The system is being replaced by a PCI compliant income system for telephone and internet payments as part of an ongoing upgrade of the core finance system. However, there have been unforeseen delays in obtaining the test data required to enable the new system to be tested and relevant staff to be trained before going live. As a result there is a realistic risk that the transition will not be achieved by the end of the existing contract and this would leave IBC without an essential system for the collection of revenue across its services.

In order to address this risk, a decision needs to be taken to extend the existing contract on a short-term basis as a contingency measure in case the new system is not ready to be fully operational within the limited time available.

One month’s notice needs to be given for the Council to extend the contract and the minimum extension available is six months at a cost of £20,000.

To extend the current contract for a period of 6 months from 19th August 2021 at a cost of £20,000.

Reason:

There have been unforeseen delays in obtaining the test data required to enable the new system to be tested and relevant staff to be trained before going live. As a result there is a realistic risk that the transition will not be achieved by the end of the existing contract and this would leave IBC without an essential system for the collection of revenue across its services.