Command and Control Maintenance and Support Extension

This report requests approval to renew the maintenance and support for the mission critical Command and Control system with Unisys for a period of 4 years (from 4 October 2018).

Taking a four year term will provide continuity of the existing service for second and third line support until the new Command and Control programme delivers the replacement solution / service.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:

1. Approve the renewal of the Unisys contract for maintenance and support of the existing Command and Control solution for four years at a total cost of £34.0m starting from 4th October 2018.

2. Approve the procurement of the renewal with Unisys via a Single Tender Action.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. The Command and Control solution is one of the organisation’s mission critical systems that underpins policing in London. It is used to manage emergency and non-emergency calls from members of the public and control the despatching of Officers, where necessary.

1.2. The system has evolved and grown over a number of years and requires a significant level of support at second and third line from Unisys, the original software supplier. MPS have a contract with Unisys to support the existing solution, which is due to expire on 3rd October 2018. Based on the current understanding, 2021 is the earliest the MPS can expect a future Command and Control system to replace the existing solution.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. The long-term plan for Command and Control is to procure and implement a new solution. The estimated timescale for the delivery of the new solution is not before Q2 2021. There is a requirement to agree the appropriate interim support arrangements from October 2018 until at least 2021, although for prudence flexibility is required in case of a delay until Oct 2022.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. The capital cost of £5.44m is funded from the approved Digital Policing Capital plan in 2018/19.

3.2. The annual revenue support and maintenance costs of £7.14m are funded from existing Digital Policing budgets for supporting the existing system, plus an inflation budget allocation.

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 contracts for goods and/or services valued at £181,302 or above must be procured in accordance with the Regulations.

4.2. 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 unforeseen variations to contracts with an original value of £500,000 or above, when the variation is greater than 10% of the original contract value.

4.3. Further legal information is contained in the exempt section of the report.

5. GDPR and Data Privacy

5.1. As a continuation of an existing service this does not change any aspects of existing practice in relation to data privacy.

6. Equality Comments

6.1. As a continuation of an existing service this does not change any aspects relating to Equality and Diversity.

7. Background/supporting papers

7.1. Report