Matt Davey, Director of Highways, Transport Ref No: OKD08 and Planning (20/21)

May 2020 Key Decision: Yes

Adur and Worthing Agency Agreement for Part I Parking Services

Report by Head of Transport and Network Electoral Division(s): Operations Broadwater Cissbury Durrington & Goring Kingston Buci Lancing Northbrook Saltings Shoreham Southwick and North Lancing Tarring Worthing Pier Worthing West Summary The initial period of the current Agency Agreement with Adur and Worthing Councils for the provision of parking services: Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) services and operational management of the Worthing Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) expired on 31 March 2020. Approval is sought to continue with the existing arrangements by way of putting in place an extended agreement for a period of two years.

As part of the process of agreeing a two-year extension to the existing contract, the opportunity has been taken to make some minor improvements and variations so that it best reflects current working practices, not only in Adur and Worthing but across the County.

Due to officer capacity issues relating to additional work arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision is backdated to allow the new contract to commence from 1 April 2020

West Plan: Policy Impact and Context A Prosperous Place – providing and managing parking in a well-managed way helps to support local businesses and communities. This is best achieved by implementing settlement - wide parking management plans that are defined by existing and future parking demand. In addition setting an appropriate level of on-street charges ensures that the primary choice for parking in towns should be off street and that more sustainable forms of travel are considered. None of this can be achieved without an Agency Agreement in place.

Financial Impact The extended Agency arrangements do not have any additional resource implications since the provisions are broadly similar to those already in place. The annual costs are currently agreed at £1,262,000 for Adur and Worthing (2019/20) although this figure will shortly be subject to annual review. The service will be contained within the existing on-street parking account and so no budgetary pressures are expected to follow from these proposals.

Recommendation:

That the Director for Highways, Transport and Planning agrees the extension and variations to the existing Agency Agreement with Adur and Worthing Councils for a two-year period until 31 March 2022 for the procurement, management and operation of Civil Parking Enforcement in Adur and Worthing and operational management of the Worthing Controlled Parking Zone, under the provisions of the Act 1972 and the Local Authorities (Arrangements for the Discharge of Functions) () Regulations 2000/2851.

Proposal

1. Background and Context

1.1. County Council, in its capacity as highway authority, is responsible for managing all aspects of on-street parking in West Sussex. The County Council has the ability to delegate responsibility for some functions of both on and off street parking management to a Borough or District Council through the use of an “Agency Agreement”.

1.2. The County Council entered into an Agency Agreement with Adur and Worthing Councils which commenced on 1 April 2015. The Agreement, in summary, is for the discharge of the on-street parking enforcement service, provision of a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) management service in Worthing, and management of any local off-street parking assets in the District of Adur and Borough of Worthing.

1.3. Arrangements under the Agreement have run very successfully and expired on 31 March 2020.. The Agency Agreement does allow for an extension to the Agreement Period of up to five years and consideration has been given to taking up this option from April 2020. An alternative option is to extend the Agreement for a period of two years with a view to making a further variation in 2020/21. This two-year period is based upon legal advice issued to officers, whereby it is not considered appropriate to extend for the full five years at this time. Two years will give sufficient time to complete a review of the entire civil on-street parking strategy. Following the review, a decision can be made as to whether a new contract is required to include more clarity and robust terms and conditions

1.4. The decision is backdated to allow the amended contract to commence from 1 April 2020.

1.5. The Agreement will delegate the County Council’s relevant functions to Adur and Worthing Councils to discharge by way of the procurement, management and operation of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) and operational management of the CPZ, together with management of any local County Council off-street parking assets in the District of Adur and Borough of Worthing.

1.6. The extended Agreement will be broadly similar to the current Agreement, although updated to reflect changes to the legislative framework, current best practice across the county and to correctly reflect the financial budget delegated from the County Council to Worthing and Adur. The present division of responsibility for discharge of the functions for on and off-street parking management will remain unaltered.

2. Proposal Details

2.1 The reasons for the variations, and hence the preparation of a new Agreement are summarised as follows:

• There is a need for the Agreement to reflect the latest version of the sign/line defect reporting protocol (incorporating the wider responsibilities agreed with all authorities in West Sussex earlier in 2019). • The same applies for the County Council’s Parking Policy which was updated in 2018. • All financial reconciliations are now intended to be quarterly rather than monthly in order to reflect performance reporting objectives. • For any Agreements that were in place before 2017, there is a need to add new sections such as Principles of Collaboration and Cooperation, Freedom of Information and Data Protection • There is also a need to include a new schedule containing the Service Level Agreement. Any Agreements in place before 2017 did not contain such an agreement. • For all Agreements, there is a desire to standardise the format/content to ensure consistency and understanding.

Factors taken into account

3. Consultation

3.1 The Parties have discussed and agreed changes subject to review and agreement of Legal Services and the Procurement Board.

3.2 Adur and Worthing Councils have agreed that the contract may be extended.

4. Financial (revenue and capital) and Resource Implications

4.1 The extended Agency arrangements do not have any additional resource implications since the provisions will be broadly similar to those already in place. The annual costs are currently agreed at £1,262,000 for Adur and Worthing (2019/20) although this figure is subject to review and is likely to reduce for 2020/21. The annual on-street parking income collected from Adur and Worthing is approximately £2.3m and so the overall service operates in surplus

4.2 The service will be contained within the existing on-street parking account and so no budgetary pressures are expected to follow from these proposals.

The Agreement will be under continuous review as it matures, in order to ensure that every opportunity is taken to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of the service.

4.3 The table below highlights the revenue implications of the proposal. There are no capital consequences arising from this proposal.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 2020/21 £m 2021/22 £m 2022/23 £m 2023/24 £m On-Street Parking Agency Agreement 2.426 2.426 2.426 2.426 Budget (All Areas) Change from 0 0 0 0 proposal Revised On- Street Parking Agency 2.426 2.426 2.426 2.426 Agreement Budget (All Areas)

4.4 Whilst not directly related to the Agreement itself it is worth noting that income and expenditure for on-street parking is required by law to be contained within the County Council’s On-Street Parking Account. This account must be self-contained and held separately from the County Council’s other accounts. The purpose for which any surplus might be utilised, should a surplus be generated, is ring-fenced by Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act, 1984 (RTRA) as amended. In summary, these are:

• to repay any funds for parking measures that have been borrowed from the general rate fund • to contribute towards the provision or maintenance of parking facilities • to contribute towards improvements to passenger transport services or infrastructure • to contribute towards other highway improvements

5. Legal Implications

5.1 Pursuant to Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, the County Council is a parking enforcement authority.

5.2 Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 provides that a local authority may arrange for the discharge of any of their functions (powers or duties) by any other local authority. The delegation of function to another local authority is a not “public contract” for the purposes of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and therefore they do not apply.

5.3 The Council has a duty to consider Best Value under the Local Government Act 1999 to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

The income from on-street charging and any penalty charge payments received (whether for on-street or off-street enforcement) must only be used in accordance with section 55 (as amended) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The County Council must, and in turn will need to ensure that Worthing and Adur when exercising the County Council’s functions, have regard to The Secretary of States Statutory Guidance to Local Authorities on Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions.

6. Risk Implications and Mitigations

RISK MITIGATING ACTION Objection to parking In the management of on-street management or intervention. parking a balance needs to be struck which shares out a finite amount of kerbside parking space amongst the many competing users and user groups. Management and enforcement of parking provides a key element of the framework within which these competing and conflicting needs are identified, assessed and prioritised.

The availability and access to both on and off-street parking is important in supporting the economic vitality of town centres and reducing traffic congestion. Achieving the correct level of enforcement is not an exact science and there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. Instead, many factors need to be balanced in order to arrive at an appropriate level of enforcement. Regular monitoring and performance management will take place across Adur and Worthing. This monitoring and performance management informs officers if parking management and enforcement resources are deployed at an appropriate level to meet published objectives.

7. Other Options Considered

7.1 The Department for Transport (DfT) has issued Operational Guidance which sets out the policy framework within which the Government believes that all English local authorities, both inside and outside London, should be setting their parking policies and, if appropriate, enforcing those policies.

7.2 Within the context of this advice officers are currently looking at the long term operational efficiency of the Agency Agreements across the county to ensure that they continue to offer best value. Notwithstanding that review extending the Worthing and Adur Agreement allows officers to continue the productive arrangements currently in place with Worthing and Adur.

8. Equality and Human Rights Assessment

8.1 An Equality Assessment is not required because this report is dealing with procedural matters only

8.2 There are not considered to be any Human Rights Act implications

9. Social Value

9.1 All customers will be positively affected by good management of on street parking, and more integrated management of on and off-street parking, across Worthing Borough and .

9.2 This will be experienced in the form of: • the greater availability of on-street parking spaces • less time spent and distance travelled searching for a parking space • less traffic congestion and pollution arising from ‘searching’ traffic • encouraging ‘good neighbourliness’ within the local community • better and easier access for Blue Badge holders • better access to loading bays supporting deliveries to local business 9.3 Greater accessibility of town centre parking will benefit the local economy and support local shops and services.

10. Crime and Disorder Implications

The County Council does not consider an extension of an established Agency Agreement to create any crime and disorder issues. Officers have previously consulted with , who share this view.

Andy Ekinsmyth Head of Transport and Network Operations

Contact: Miles Davy [email protected]