We’re enhancing the efficiency of Lambeth Council’s parking enforcement department, facilitating the timely issuance of notices and the seamless digital receipt of payments and correspondence, supporting the council’s income generation.
Lambeth Parking oversees all parking-related issues within the borough – an area spanning approximately 10.5 square miles. This includes managing parking permits, penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued through civil enforcement officers and CCTV cameras, fixed penalty notices (FPNs), on-the-spot fines, regulating parking locations, and handling abandoned vehicles.
Challenge: Internal constraints and rising costs
While Lambeth Council initially managed the printing of enforcement notices and inbound communications themselves, internal constraints had resulted in backlogs, higher costs and delays in meeting service-level agreements (SLAs). This was especially true for time-critical deadlines for correspondence to be delivered. The council urgently needed a reliable partner who could respond quickly to their changing communication needs while delivering high-quality printed materials under tight deadlines and as cost-effectively as possible.
Capita has an established track record in the parking enforcement sector, successfully providing services to Islington Council, London Hammersmith and Fulham Council, North Tyneside, and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, among others. This expertise led Lambeth Council to partner with Capita, awarding us the official parking contract in 2018. Our successful collaboration has led to two contract extensions, with the agreement now running until 2026.
Solutions: Tailored parking and print services
We implemented a bespoke solution tailored to the council’s needs, with a focus on customer service, compliance with governance obligations, and strict adherence to service level agreements (SLAs). This includes same-day processing for all incoming correspondence, around 450 items daily, and printing and dispatching approximately 2,500 PCN notices per day.
Under this partnership, we provide:
- Outbound transactional print and mail: Handling parking-related documents such as PCNs, FPNs, debt collection letters, and parking permits.
- Detailed management information reports: Including data validation exceptions and return-to-base PDFs of issued and mailed documents, which can be uploaded to the council's electronic document management system (EDMS) for future appeal cases.
- Inbound mailroom services: Managing PCN and FPN payment collections, returned mail, and general correspondence processing.
We worked closely with Lambeth Council throughout the designing and testing phase, maintaining regular contact to address potential queries before they became issues. Our flexible approach meant that minor adjustments to the data exchange interface were made to improve data delivery, while ensuring compliance with SLA’s and accurate billing information.
As a result of our extensive experience, the onboarding process for the council’s employees was seamless and straightforward. We also maintain a close relationship with Farthest Gate – Lambeth Council’s chosen back-office and digital data deployment supplier – to ensure an uninterrupted service at all times.
Results: Streamlined parking operations and exceptional service delivery
On behalf of Lambeth Council, we issue approximately 600,000 parking notices annually, including PCNs, permits and debt recovery notices. We process and scan around 120,000 mail items per year and handle approximately £240,000 in cheque payments annually.
Our performance is reviewed monthly, with service quality consistently rated ‘green’ on Heatmaps - a measure of service, relationship, change, commerciality, and innovation. Speaking about their experience, Cem Yener, Lambeth’s Parking Supplier Relationship Officer, noted the value of having a dedicated service representative, stating: “It’s good to have her in the team looking after the Lambeth parking contract. She has a good knowledge of the service Capita offers and is very responsive, replying to enquiries and emails within the expected timescales.”
By partnering with CIC, Lambeth Council has been able to free up internal resources to concentrate on other key priorities, such as enhancing parking enforcement strategies and monitoring the impact of additional CCTV placements. Critically, our commitment to the SLAs, service quality, and operational efficiencies is improving the council’s performance and their ability to serve citizens more effectively.
