005478 Youth Justice Case Management
Dear Newcastle upon Tyne City Council,
Please can you explain why this contract was awarded to Capita when the criteria specified "must be fully Asset Plus compliant and according to the YJB at the time of tender no authority in the UK had an Asset Plus compliant system supplied by Capita?
Please can you confirm if other suppliers who bid for the contract were Asset Plus Compliant?
Please can you explain why there were no practical demonstrations surely for a system which looks after some of the most vulnerable people in society then NCC would want to ensure that it is "fit for purpose" and that the supplier’s responses can be validated against at a demonstration.
Please can you confirm that Capita were the lowest bidder if not and other fully compliant bidders were lower then why did NCC not investigate their bid further?
In a time of severe austerity I would expect NCC to look for the most compliant bid with the lowest cost possible for the council and this currently looks as though this is not the case in this instance.
Yours faithfully,
Bill Wilkins
Reference: FOI 11236
Thank you for your request for information. We are dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We have passed your request to relevant colleagues who will respond within 20 working days starting the working day after receipt of your request.
Regards
Freedom of Information Team
FOI 11236 Response
Dear Bill
Please find attached FOI response to your recent request.
Many thanks
Jackie Howley
Administration Support Officer
Complaints and Customer Relations Team
Wellbeing, Care and Learning Directorate
Phone +44 (0)191 2777427/ x27427
Dear Newcastle upon Tyne City Council,
Can you confirm that the Youth Justice system purchased from Capita has been deployed with a fully Compliant Working Asset Plus in December 2016 as per Capita's tender response.
Yours faithfully,
Bill Wilkins
Yours sincerely,
Bill Wilkins
Dear Bill,
Thank you for your additional query. We have forwarded it on, and we will pass the response on to you as soon as we receive it.
Regards,
Louise
Louise Appleby
Complaints and School Appeals Officer
Civic Centre
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8QH
Tel: 0191 2115304
[mobile number]
Please note I do not work Mondays
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Common Law Jurisdiction left an annotation ()
So, they have admitted there was no practical demonstration. Quite frankly that is atrocious, but not surprising. Capita and G4S seem to have their fingers in lots of pies.
In a family business no-one with any sense would buy a system without a practical so why do the establishment?