Issue - meetings

Report ES18089

Members considered performance of the Parking Services Contractor APCOA (enforcement of parking restrictions, maintenance of Council car parks, maintenance of pay and display machines, and back office functions). 

Although APCOA had a number of challenges in year one of the contract, the second year has seen an improvement in service areas and performance is satisfactory.

On enforcement, Report ES18089 provided figures on PCNs issued annually from 1^st April 2013 to 31^st March 2018 i.e. those issued by Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) and those issued as a result of CCTV cameras for bus Lanes and those capturing offences on school zigzag restrictions. Figures on PCNs predicted for 2018 /19 were also provided. Although fewer CEO issued PCNs are predicted, enforcement will no longer take place on shared use bays in seven roads from 18:30 – 20:00 during a review of Bromley Town Centre - the signage causing confusion for drivers. Compliance, rather than poor deployment, might have also increased and this is being investigated; however, enforcement requests had increased 132% in the previous three years with only 29% of requests this year resulting in a PCN. Such enforcement visits can take CEOs away from busier areas (e.g. town centres and car parks) and work is ongoing to maintain enforcement in these areas. The existing KPI on responding to enforcement requests within a set time (depending on time of day) is being considered in favour of a more targeted approach and website information on enforcement requests will be reviewed.

APCOA are also reviewing beat sheets (with Council assistance) to ensure adequate enforcement around the borough and intelligence led deployment. Since October 2018, APCOAhave additionally trialled a vehicle with ANPR camera technology in permit zones. Updated twice daily with permit information, the technology detects a vehicle without a valid permit and a CEO issues a PCN for a contravention. Data indicates a successful use of the vehicle enabling CPZs to be covered more efficiently with CEOs reallocated to busier parts of the borough. Investment in further ANPR vehicles will be considered upon a full analysis of the trial.

As a further initiative, virtual briefings in parts of the borough will enable CEOs to head directly to their beat rather than attend APCOA’s main office each morning. This is being considered to decrease CEO travel time and enable more enforcement.

To reduce staff turnover, ACPOA are reviewing the level of CEO remuneration and a new Contract Manager will start in February 2019. A joint compliance review will also start, with monthly reports analysing roads needing visits to ensure efficient enforcement borough-wide. Of defaults applied so far this year, 73.75% concern enforcement.

Concerning Council-run car parks, Parking Services are investigating reduced usage and will compare use to those of non-Council car parks in the area. An APCOA proposal to improve the Civic Centre Car Park is also being considered. Of defaults applied so far this year, 3.77% have related to car park maintenance, Pay and Display machine  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53

ES18089

The Committee was presented with a report on ‘Parking Services—Contractor Performance Review, APCOA Parking, Year 2’.  The report had been written by Chloe Wenbourne (Acting Head of Parking Services). Ms Wenbourne attended to present the report, along with Mr Angus Culverwell (Assistant Director, Traffic and Parking). Mr Ken Stone attended from APCOA.

The report was written to update Members on the performance of the Parking Services Contract. The report stated that the contract was approaching the end of its second year, and that overall the contractor was performing to a satisfactory level.

The Chairman clarified that the report was also going to the Environment PDS Committee. The PP&E PDS Committee would be focusing solely on areas related to enforcement.

Ms Wenbourne said that some improvement in KPI enforcement targets had been evidenced. Mr Stone stated that he was seeking to develop a better working relationship with LBB. He wanted to improve staff retention which had been an issue in the past. To this end, staff had been granted a pay award in October 2018.

The Chairman noted the issues around staff retention, and was hopeful that the matter could be improved. Mr Stone responded that APCOA staff were paid above the national minimum wage and would soon benefit from another 2% pay award. Mr Stone fully understood the importance of retaining staff, as it was costly to lose and retrain them.

The Chairman was concerned to note that four Contract Managers had been appointed over a short time-frame. It was suggested that this was because the pressure and workload of managing a shared service with LB Bexley had proved too difficult. A new Contracts Manager was starting soon who was experienced at managing a team. It was anticipated that she would be able to motivate staff and increase morale. 

The Chairman commented that the number of parking tickets issued had decreased and he asked why this had occurred. Ms Wenbourne replied that this was probably due to staffing issues, but this would be something that would be investigated.

The Chairman was impressed to hear about the benefits that had been accrued from using the ANPR moped, and he hoped that more of these could be used for various enforcement functions in the future. 

The Chairman referred to table PK3 (appendix 2 of the report) which detailed civil enforcement errors. It was observed that within year 2 of the contract, there had been 685 cases cancelled as a result of CEO (Civil Enforcement Officer) error—this averaged out to 76 per month. It was hoped that this figure would drop in the future.

A discussion took place concerning parking contraventions outside of schools. There seemed to be a desire amongst Members to be more aggressive and pro-active in combating parking contraventions outside of schools. A Member referred to Harris Academy in Lennard Road and expressed the view that continual and widespread contraventions were occurring without any enforcement action being undertaken. Mr Culverwell responded that when CEOs were sent to Harris  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59