Procurement The partnership approach Louise Parfitt finds out more about the BPA Model Contract and how it can help with consistent and fair procurement processes aving reviewed the BPA contract, we were clear that it was quite a sophisticated contractual tool that would help us in managing civil parking enforcement, particularly in relation to KPIs and payments, says Adrian Purchase, parking lead commissioner at Warwickshire County Council, which started using the BPAs Model Contract in 2014. By using an industry-standard form, we also have confidence that the market should be familiar with it. The BPA Model Contract for Parking Management and Associated Services was developed with government, local contractors and service providers in 2004. It is endorsed by the Transport Select Committee and included in Statutory Guidance, in which the Secretary of State for Transport recommends that enforcement authorities use a balanced Service Level Agreement (SLA), such as the BPA Model Contract.* Originally, the aim was to create a standard contract to help local authorities and others who appoint service providers to manage their on-street parking and related services. The Model Contract is designed to underpin a partnering and risk-sharing approach, as opposed to a client/contractor adversarial approach, says Dave Smith, BPA head of communications and marketing. This enables improvements in the delivery of products and services, and benefits and improvement savings to be shared throughout the life of the contract. This approach, along with the associated payment mechanism, incentivises both parties to innovate: the supplier provides the best possible service in accordance with the specification, thereby increasing their revenues, and the contractor is protected from paying for poor service. H Who is it for? Primarily, the BPA Model Contract is used for civil parking enforcement contracts. Following a review, a consultant report It brings uniformity to procurement. As well as standardising the terms and conditions, it comes with the support of the BPA during the procurement process and continued support during the contract term confirmed that the contract is, in fact, a Framework Agreement, which means it can also be used for services other than parking. Indeed, some of the current licensees have used it for their IT or cash-collection services. In addition to local government, BPA members that provide goods and services to the public sector will welcome improvements to the contract procurement process. Recently, we responded to a government consultation and proposed to offer our Model Contract as an exemplar that might be referenced in any best-practice guidance produced as part of this work, says Smith.** There are currently around 20 licensees using the BPA Model Contract, and we encourage its take-up across the parking sector. Firm foundations The London Borough of Waltham Forest has been using the BPA Model Contract for the past 11 years. We use it as a base and have adapted it to the needs of our services/contract model, explains Anthony Hall, head of parking services. It brings uniformity to procurement. As well as standardising, to a great extent, the terms and conditions, it also comes with the support 40 britishparking.co.uk PN June 2021 pp40-41 Model Contracts.indd 40 21/05/2021 11:46