PCD 1627 Provision of Boarding Services for Seized Dogs

PCD 1627 Provision of Boarding Services for Seized Dogs

This paper sets out the case for a re-procurement of the facilities to accommodate dogs seized by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers.  The current contract expires in September 2024.  The volume of dogs needing kennelling and the price to accommodate them have both increased in recent years. In addition, the recent legislation to treat XL Bully dogs under the Dangerous Dogs act will add further pressure. The additional cost of £3,150,000 per annum will be funded from the approved budget. 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve the initiation of a procurement exercise for four-year agreements upto £16,200,000 for MPS Seized Dog Kennelling provision at the increased value following the expiry of the current contracts. 

2. The DMPC delegate the approval of the award to the Director of Commercial Services. 

3. To approve the business case for additional budget of £3,150,000 per annum required from 2024/25 to 2027/28. Funding has been approved as part of the budget process. 

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. MOPAC approved the procurement for the provision of boarding seized dogs in July 2019 for a 4 year term, with effect from 1 October 2020 – see PCD 616. This contract expires on 30 September 2024.  

2. Issues for consideration 

1. There has been an increase in dog ownership of circa 10% since the last contract was let.  The MPS has more registered banned breed dogs (1,200) than the rest of the top 10 forces combined, some 34% of all currently registered banned breeds in the whole of the UK. 

2. The volume of seized dogs has increased from circa 800 in 2019/20 to 1,247 for the 9-month period 1 April 2023 to 31 December 2023.  Unit costs for a night of kennelling are reported to have increased by 45% during the term of the existing contract resulting from increases in prices for dog food, energy and staff costs.  

3. The average stay in kennels is 90 days.  The supply of kennelling for seized dogs has declined in recent years, and is expected to continue to be tight. 

4. Recent legislation saw the banning of the ‘XL Bully’ type of dog from 31 December 2023 which is expected to further increase demand on this service.  

5. The MPS recommend the re-procurement of this service. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. The estimated cost of the new contract is £4,050,000 per annum, a total of £16,200,000 over a four-year term.  The costs will be met from within the existing approved budget. 

4. Legal Comments 

1. The MPS Directorate of Legal Services (DLS) assure that the proposed route to market is compliant with Public Contract Regulations. 

2. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 or above. 

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

5. Commercial Issues  

1. The service to be provided is the accommodation and care of seized dogs.  The current contract expires on 30 September 2024. The MPS has assessed a number of options for the re-procurement of the service based on a variety of volume levels. The recommended procurement is to acquire kennelling volumes at a level that is in line with existing demand plus an uplift of 25% to take account of the recent banning of XL Bully dogs. 

2. The proposed route for the procurement is to be via a open procurement process.  

3. The volume of current spaces has decreased over the life of the contract.  The current geographic limit on the location of the kennels will be broadened to encourage more suppliers in this new procurement. 

4. The MPS assure that the tender will also assess Social Value and supporting criteria for the London Anchor Institutions charter.  

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. The MPS assure that this project does not use personally identifiable data of members of the public, so there are no GDPR issues to be considered. 

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. The MPS assure that this project has undergone an initial equality screening and 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. 

8. Background/supporting papers 

• Appendix 1 MPS Report - Provision of Boarding Services for Seized Dogs