Knowledge and Information Management Team

Information Services

101 Orchardson Street

London

This matter is being dealt with by :

NW8 8EA

Email: [Westminster City Council request email]

Tel No: 0207 641

Fax No: 0207 641 2872

To

Mrs Brown

E: [FOI #19350 email]

Date: 30^th November 2009

Request Reference

Date Received

Content of Request

4385

21/09/2009

I would like to know about the tender process that Westminster City Council must have undertaken at the time of considering the implementation of a pay by phone parking system, in accordance to the European Directive 2004/18/EC, for which the details are available here

http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004L0018:EN:NOT

Firstly, can you please provide the details of each supplier, a part from Verrus UK Limited, which the Council might have considered at the time. Can you please advise the specific date(s) when the Council might have met with each supplier to discuss their services, including Verrus UK Limited. Also, can you please provide the details of each individual that the Council might have met from each organisation.

Secondly, I would like to know what made the Council select Verrus UK Limited in preference to any other supplier, who might also have presented their product and services.

4453

05/10/2009

I have just downloaded the motorcycle report from your website dated 1st October 2009 and noted that in paragraph 4.6.1 on page 6, it says the following:-

"For those either without a debit card, credit card or bank account or unwilling to provide their card details, it is possible to use prepaid cards (also known as `pay as you go' cards) to pay for motorcycle parking. These cards have grown in popularity over the past couple of years and are available from a wide variety of companies and can be used by telephone and/or online to purchase goods or services".

Please can you advise the following:-

A. Is the report referring to the parking cards available for purchase in £2 or £4 denominations from a library or one-stop shop, as described in the following link

http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/transportandstreets/parking/wheretopark/onstreet/parkingcard/

B. The report suggests that the popularity of these cards has grown over the past couple of years. Please can you advise how many motorcyclists have purchased these parking cards between 1st August 2008 and 31st December 2008 and 1st January 2009 to 30th September 2009.

C. Please can you advise where on a motorbike or scooter you expect these cards to be displayed.

4454

05/10/2009

I have downloaded the motorcycle report dated 1st October 2009 from your website and have the following question regarding the consultation that was undertaken prior to introducing the motorcycle charging scheme.

In paragraph 4.6.2 on page 7, it says the following:-

"The July 2008 decision to introduce motorcycle parking charges was made after dialogue with major motorcycle groups;

Please can you advise how the Council made a decision to introduce parking charges for motorbikes and scooters after dialogue with the three above organisations [Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), British Motorcyclists Federations (BMF) and Motorcycle Parking], when each specifically advised that they were opposed to charging for motorcycle parking.

4455

05/10/2009

I have downloaded the motorcycle report dated 1st October 2009 from your website

In paragraph 4.6.5 on page 9, it says the following:-

"In September 2009, 200 new devices have been purchased and a programme of implementation is being developed".

My questions are as follows:-

A. Please can you advise the types of security devices that have been purchased.

B. How much has the council spent in total to buy these 200 new security devices.

C. What consultation has been carried out to make sure that these 200 new security devices are going to prove suitable.

D. Who has been consulted with regards to the purchase of these 200 new security devices. I am after the names of the organisations and/or individuals that the council has approached. Please note that I will be checking the results of your consultation with the contacts supplied.

4456

05/10/2009

I have downloaded the motorcycle report dated 1st October 2009 from your website

In paragraph 4.7.6 on page 12, it says the following:-

"In terms of efficiency, the pay by Phone system uptime factor has exceeded 99.95%".

Please can you provide a copy of your calculations, assumptions and supporting data to back up this percentage. Please provide as many

details as possible.

4457

05/10/2009

I have downloaded the motorcycle report dated 1st October 2009 from your website (http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/newcsu/Ca...(FINAL).doc) and have

the following question:-

In paragraph 4.7.19 on page 16, it says the following:-

"Although we have not scrapped the charge completely, we have listened to the concerns and taken on board complaints and the formal objections".

Can you please explain the above statement in the light of the No To Bike Parking Tax objection form that was handed in to the council by thousands of motorcyclists on 1st July 2009, which specifically says "I am writing to officially object to the proposal to make parking charges for powered two-wheeled vehicles in Westminster permanent".

The objection form, completed and handed in by thousands of motorcyclists, clearly requests full scrapping of the scheme, so how can you say in your latest motorcycle parking report that you "have listened to the concerns and taken on board complaints and the formal objections"?

I include the link to the form for your reference:-

http://www.notobikeparkingfees.com/downloads/1st-july-objection-form.pdf

Clearly, you haven't, so I await your explanation for having, once again, ignored the public opinion while making a recommendation to the Cabinet Member for the scheme to be made permanent.

4458

05/10/2009

I have downloaded the motorcycle report dated 1st October 2009 from your website and have the following question.

In paragraph 4.9 on page 17, you seem to suggest that the British Motorcyclists' Federation was consulted with regards to the motorcycle parking tax, but they didn't object to the scheme.

Please, can you explain your statement in the light of their letter to all Westminster Councillors for which I include the link below:-

http://www.notobikeparkingfees.com/wpcontent/uploads/2009/02/joint_bmf_mag_westminster_councillors_letter.pdf

4459

05/10/2009

I have downloaded the motorcycle report dated 1st October 2009 from your website and have the following question.

In section 6, which starts on page 18 and refers to the legal implications of making the motorcycle charging scheme permanent, there is no reference to the intentions of the No To Bike Parking Tax (NTBPT) campaign to undertake a legal attack against Westminster City Council, should Councillor Chalkley decide to make his bike parking tax permanent. Please refer to the letter sent by the campaign's chairman to Westminster Council Chief Executive, Mike More, a couple of weeks ago, for which I include the link below:-

http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Mr_Mike_More_Letter_16_September_2009_Westminster_Motorcycle_Parking_Tax.pdf

Can you please explain why the NTBPT legal intentions have been been totally ignored in the report? Don't you think that the report should fully brief Councillor Chalkley of the consequences of his potential decision to make the bike parking tax permanent?

4474

08/10/2009

In relation to Freedom of Information request 4385 I need further clarification with regards to your response and the tendering process for the introduction of the pay by phone parking system.

My questions are as follows:-

1. You seem to have mentioned Vertex Data Science Ltd as an organisation that submitted tender. I have googled the name of this organisation and, unless I am mistaken, they don't seem to be a pay by phone parking provider. Here is the link to their website

http://www.nccmembership.co.uk/pooled/articles/BF_PSART/view.asp?Q=BF_PSART_102881

and I would be grateful if you could explain the reason(s) why the Council contacted this particular organisation as a potential supplier for the pay by phone parking technology.

2. I would like to fully understand the process that the Council went through to introduce the pay by phone parking system. Please can you describe the different stages and phases that the Council went through from beginning to end to discuss, implement, advertise etc the existing pay by phone parking system. In your response, please include a description of how and when the idea was first generated and discussed, how the council contacted and selected relevant organisations that presented their products and services, details of the trial conducted with the use of the Verrus technology in two zones of the borough (I believe in 2007) and any tendering process undertaken at that time, details of the results of the trial together with details of how a decision had been made to award a trial contract to Verrus and not to another organisation, details of any tendering process before hiring Verrus for the trial AND before awarding the contract to Verrus again for the present pay by phone parking scheme.

3. Please advise the exact time and phase/stage of the pay by phone parking implementation project during which the six organisations mentioned in your response had submitted tenders.

4. Please can you supply copies of the tendering documentation prepared and submitted by each of the six organisations mentioned in your response.

5. Please can you supply copies of all correspondence (whether received or sent out) with each of the six organisations mentioned in your response.

6. Please can you supply copies of the minutes of all the meetings the council had with each of the six organisations mentioned in your response.

7. Please can you supply copies of the minutes of the meeting during which it was decided to use the Verrus technology for the trial scheme (for the 2 zones selected) and to award the present contract to Verrus.

8. Finally, I note that you have not answered my initial second question "what made the Council select Verrus UK Ltd in preference to any other supplier who might have also presented their products and services". Your response only refers to a set of general procedures to follow to select suppliers but I have no proof that the Council actually followed these procedures and I am totally unclear on the basis upon which Councillor Danny Chalkley selected Verrus among the other suppliers. I would like to be notified of the specific reason(s) why Verrus was selected for BOTH the trial scheme and the present scheme. In your response, please include detailed facts such as, for example, price/fee comparisons between Verrus and all other suppliers the council considered, qualitative comparisons between Verrus and all other suppliers considered etc, for BOTH the trial scheme and the present scheme.

4526

19/10/2009

Please provide copies of ALL correspondence (emails, letters etc), minutes of meetings and "dialogue" (to use the term mentioned in Mr Fitsall's latest motorcycle report) with EACH of the major motorcycle groups.

Basically, I am asking for back-up documentation held by the council that can justify the statement made by Mr Fitsall in his latest motorcycle report: "The July 2008 decision to introduce motorcycle parking charges was made after dialogue with major motorcycle groups"