Provision for Boarding Services for Seized Dogs

This paper seeks authority to initiate a new procurement exercise for a framework agreement for boarding services for seized dogs from 1st April 2020 for a period of four years.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:

• Approve the initiation of a procurement exercise for a four-year framework for MPS Seized Dog Kennelling provision (valued at £5.36M (£1.34M P/A)) following the expiry of the current contract in March 2020 (Contract Ref: Lot 1, SS/13/140).

1. Introduction and background

1.1 The current framework as (extended under MPS delegated authority) expires on 31st March 2020 and thereafter no provision for continued retention / seizure exists. Any dogs still held by Police after this time would need to be released from custody.

1.2 The provision of this service to take dogs into custody along with suitable facilities to house them compliant with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and associated regulations are or significant benefit to front-line Policing, otherwise, with no such policy Officers would be unable to seize dogs.

1.3 Presently dogs seized / taken into possession by Police Officers are transferred by the Status Dog Unit (MO7 Taskforce) to authorised external providers who undertake care on behalf of the Commissioner in line with a strict legal framework.

1.4 The introduction of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 amended the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and created new offences where a dog is now considered dangerous in a private place. The impact of this legislation has increased the numbers of dogs being seized and Officers are now required to intervene in familial or near familial bite cases particularly with regards to children and vulnerable persons where there is a requirement to safeguard.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1 The current contract commenced 1st April 2015 and expired on 31th March 2019. The contract period is a 2+1+1, the valuation for the entire life of the contract was £7,200,000. This was originally approved by the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime (MOPAC) for the entire contractual value. A 10% and time only extension was granted until 31st March 2020 to enable providers to obtain new licenses and undergo Local Authority inspections pursuant to the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (England) Regulations 2018. This extension will also ensure market readiness for the new tender to be commented subject to MOPAC approval for initiation.

2.2 The requirement to temporarily extend the current provision as an emergency case as opposed completing a procurement exercise earlier is largely due to new secondary legislation introduced by the Government in October 2018. A new regulatory framework has been created owing to SI/486/2018, The Licensing of Activities Involving Animals Regulations (England) 2018 which came into force from 1st January 2019 and now requires new licenses to be obtained by all boarding establishments with an amended inspection and quality assurance regime.

2.3 It was thought best not to instigate a new framework earlier until the impact and application of these new regulations was known in case this placed the MPS in a position of being out of date, forcing retrospective compliance.

2.4 The time only extension runs out on 31st March 2020 and there is a need to have new arrangements in place to supersede this for business continuity purposes

3. Financial Comments

3.1 The costs are expected to be £1.34m per year for the length of the contact of 2+1+1. The contract is a framework so will be provided by a number of suppliers.

3.2 The revenue budget currently held within Taskforce for seized dogs is £1.34m P/A. Taskforce will manage the use of suppliers and ensure that costs will be managed within existing approved budgets.

3.3 Spend for the last two years have been around £1.34m and therefore, the framework is not anticipated to achieve any financial savings.

4. Legal Comments

4.1 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 public of contracts for good and or services valued at £181,302 or above must be procured in accordance with the Regulations. This report confirms the estimated value of the proposed framework agreement will exceed the above threshold. Accordingly, the Regulations will be engaged.

4.2 Paragraph 4.13 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime has delegated authority to approve all requests to go out to tender for contracts valued at £500,000 or above.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1 Due to a desire to have multiple providers, for both capacity and contingency considerations, it is proposed that the new procurement is for a framework agreement which will be for a period of four (4) years.

6. GDPR and Data Privacy (General Data Protection Regulations)

6.1 The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals.

6.2 Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects.

6.3 The Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will be consulted at all stages to ensure the project meets its compliance requirements.

7. Equality Comments

7.1 This business case has undergone initial equality screening. Due regard has been taken to the Equality Act’s Public Sector Equality Duty. Real consideration has been taken to assess equality impact caused by the proposed business changes. As a result, no positive or negative impact has been identified to any individual and/or group safeguarded by a protected characteristic and those who are not.

7.2 An Equality Impact Assessment was last completed in relation to the MPS Policing Guide in relation to “Dogs Coming to Police Notice” which was updated in 2016 following a change in primary and secondary legislation along with the Sentencing Guidelines. As this is an extension of an existing service this work does not change any aspects relating to equality or diversity.