National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC) - Mercury Contract Ext

This paper seeks approval for a 12 month contract extension for the supply of support and development from Informed Solutions to the Mercury platform operated by the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC). The value of the proposed extension is up to £550,000 which will be funded from within NPoCC budgets. The paper also seeks approval to initiate procurement for the longer term provision of this service for a period of 4 years at a value of £2,000,000.

The Mercury platform is a database of over 200+ police roles and skills, and a record of all officers and staff who are qualified and current in those particular skills. It is used to manage mutual aid between forces and is relied upon both centrally by NPoCC but also by all Forces (including Police Scotland and PSNI) to manage inter-force mutual aid.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:  

1. Approve a further one-year extension of the existing contract with Informed Solutions with a maximum value of £550,000

2. Approve the initiation of contract activity for the replacement to the Mercury Contract at a value estimated at £2,000,000 for a period of 4 years.

1. Introduction and background

1. MOPAC host the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC). The NPoCC operate the Mercury platform which is a database of over 200+ police roles and skills and a record of all officers and staff who are qualified and current in those particular skills. It is a national system which paints a national picture of the U.K’s capabilities.

2. This national system allows mutual aid and specialist officers to be requested by any force throughout the U.K. The entire step from request, to mobilising and the running of a large-scale operation is all done through Mercury. Every force’s HR system in the U.K feeds into this and it is used by all who have access and input. It is used to manage mutual aid between forces and is relied upon both centrally by NPoCC but also by all Forces (including Police Scotland and PSNI) to manage inter-force mutual aid.

3. The current contract for the supply of support and development to the Mercury platform expires in March 2022. This paper seeks approval for the extension of a 12 month contract for on-going support.

2. Issues for consideration

1. The Mercury platform is currently undergoing a transition to a cloud hosting environment, and a planned development programme. The platform is required to support the Commonwealth Games in July 2022.

2. The NPoCC has commenced discussions re the possibility of commercialising the Mercury product to reduce the cost to the public purse.

3. In order to minimise risks to the delivery of the above and to provide the time necessary to re-procure a support and development service for the future the proposal is to extend/award a contract for a period of 12 months at a value of £550,000.

4. During the period of the extension NPoCC propose to re-procure the service to enable the continued provision of this platform

3. Financial Comments

1. The estimated value of the contract award/extension is up to £550,000. NPoCC assure that this cost will be met from within its existing NPoCC budget. There is no liability to MOPAC.

2. The estimated value of the proposed re-procurement is £2,000,000 over a 4 year period. NPoCC confirm this cost will be met from within its existing budget.

4. Legal Comments

1. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (“MOPAC”) is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”). All awards of, or modifications to, public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £213,477 or above shall be procured in accordance with the Regulations. This report confirms the value of the contract exceeds this threshold.

2. Regulation 72 permits MOPAC to modify a contract in limited circumstances. Specifically, regulation 72(1)(b) provides MOPAC may modify a contract where:

• It is not possible to change contractor due to technical or economic reasons; and

• To change contractor would cause MOPAC to suffer significant inconvenience or substantial costs duplication

3. Provided the value of the modification does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract. This report confirms the above criteria are met and so the proposals are compliant.

4. Paragraph 4.13 of the Scheme provides the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime approves “To approve all unforeseen variations and extensions to contracts with an original value of £500,000 or above, when the variation or extension is greater than 10% of the original value and/or is for a period of more than 12 months.”

5. Paragraph 4.13 of the Scheme also provides the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime approves all requests to go out to tender for contracts of £500,000 or above, or where there is a particular public interest.

5. Commercial Issues

1. This service provides IT support and development to the NPoCC operated Mercury platform. The contract was awarded in April 2018 for a 4-year period expiring in March 2022.

2. This paper seeks approval to a contract extension for a period of 12 months to maintain continuity of service and the time to re-procure the service.

3. The paper proposes the re-procurement of the support/development of the Mercury platform for the period after the extension. The proposal is for a 4 year contract term to be competed by way of the approved Solution Provider Framework (SPF Framework) or an appropriate Crown and Commercial Services (CCS) framework.

6. GDPR and Data Privacy

1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities.

2. NPoCC assure that a full Data Protection Impact Assessment has been carried out and that there are no issues arising.

7. Equality Comments

1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

2. NPoCC assure that as part of the migration work a full equality and diversity assessment will take place during the project plan.

8. Background/supporting papers

• Appendix 1 NPoCC paper “NPoCC Mercury Support and Development extension of existing contract with Informed Solutions”