National Parking Platform - Herefordshire

The National Parking Platform (NPP) is a not-for-profit platform that enables multiple cashless parking payment service providers to operate through a single national infrastructure, allowing motorists to use participating payment applications across connected parking locations. Originally developed through the Department for Transport's National Parking Platform programme, the platform is now operated independently and is governed collaboratively by local authorities, parking service providers, and the British Parking Association. The contract is for an initial term of two years, with options to extend in successive 12-month periods. Due to limitations within the structured notice fields, a 10-year contract duration has been stated. Herefordshire Council intends to enter into this contract by way of a direct award pursuant to Section 41 and Schedule 5, Paragraph 5 & 6 of the Procurement Act 202 Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023 provides that a direct award may be made where: "The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract- (a) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works." The Council considers that there is an absence of competition for technical reasons because National Parking Platform Limited is the sole organisation with the technical capability, infrastructure and operational responsibility required to provide access to and operate the National Parking Platform. National Parking Platform Limited is the recipient of the intellectual property and associated assets developed through the Department for Transport's National Parking Platform programme and is therefore the only supplier capable of providing the required service. In respect of Paragraph (b), the Council considers that there are no reasonable alternatives to the required services. The requirement is not for the provision of a single cashless parking payment application, but for participation in the National Parking Platform ecosystem, enabling motorists to use a range of participating payment providers through a common national platform. Alternative arrangements with an individual parking payment provider would not provide access to the National Parking Platform and would not deliver the same functionality, interoperability, flexibility, resilience, or customer choice.