FOI request (FOI225263)

Outbound mail

Requested Tue 19 December 2017
Responded  Tue 19 December 2017

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act, to request the following information from your organisation.  If this information is held and managed by multiple departments, please give information for the highest spending department

1. How does your organisation pay for postage on outbound mail?

- Franking Machine

- Royal Mail PPI or OBA account

- Downstream Access provider

- Hybrid Mail solution

- Other (please specify)

2. Please advise how you manage any mailshots.

- In-house using manual mail production and apply postage

- Outsourced to a mailing house for print, fulfilment and postage

- A combination of the above, depending on the number of recipients and mail piece content

3. Are you aware of total spend per piece for outbound mail, including printer costs, pre-printed stationery, any folding or inserting machine costs, envelopes, franking machines (and consumables,) staff resources and energy costs

- 1st class (single page colour, simplex)

- 2nd class (single page colour, simplex)

- Lagre (5 pages colour, duplex)

4. What is your overall spend on outbound mail pa?

5. When will you next review your outbound mail process and/or suppliers?

6. How do you ask potential suppliers to engage with your organisation to introduce products or services?

7. Do you use a tendering website or purchasing consortium? If so, please specify

8. Are you bound to purchase from a CCS Registered Supplier (if any cost thresholds apply, please specify.)

Response

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

This information is held

Q1 - Payment by invoice.

Q2 - In house at the present time.

Q3 - Hard to quantify.

Q4 - Our forecast for 2017-18 is £200k - please note that this includes postage for elections (£24k for County and £19k for the Parliamentary) for which we recover all the costs. We have also received £24k from central government for the new individual electoral registration to match the additional spend in that area.

Q5 - Currently out to tender.

Q6 - Through the East Sussex Procurement Hub, please see Q7.

Q7 - Hastings Borough Council is part of a consortium consisting of all of the Borough/District councils across East Sussex known as the East Sussex Procurement Hub and is based at Wealden DC - although, importantly, any of the councils can go their own way on a purchase if they so wish. We use an electronic portal for advertising our opportunities and is accessible at: https://www.sesharedservices.org.uk/esourcing . It cover all councils in East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and Slough and is free to register at and only takes 10-15 minutes.

Q8 -  If the CCS means Crown Commercial Services then yes we are.