See answers to previous information requests

Please provide the following information relating to Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), as well as details about the contractual relationship between Wokingham Borough Council and NSL Services:

1. Procedures and Policies for Handling Informal PCN Challenges:
Full details of the procedures and policies followed by NSL Services when responding to informal challenges to PCNs issued by Wokingham Borough Council. This should include any internal guidelines, training materials, or procedural documents that outline how NSL staff handle appeals, particularly in cases where mitigating circumstances, such as medical emergencies, are cited as the reason for the overstay.
Compensation and Incentives for NSL Services Staff:
All staff at NSL that deal with notice processing of informal challenge undertake training in line with statutory requirements for Notice processing, GDPR and data protection, information, and cyber security. They also work to the council’s Penalty Notice cancellation guidance copy enclosed.

2. Information on whether NSL Services staff are compensated in any way based on the number of PCNs issued. Specifically:
a) Are NSL staff eligible for bonuses, incentives, or any other forms of compensation that are directly or indirectly related to the volume of PCNs they issue? There are no incentives of any kind directly or indirectly related to the volume of PCN’s issued. A vehicle is either in contravention or not.
b) Is there any correlation between the salaries or compensation of NSL staff and the number of PCNs issued? There is no correlation between salaries or compensation of NSL staff and the number of PCN’s issued.
c) Does the contract between Wokingham Borough Council and NSL Services explicitly allow or prohibit the introduction of any bonus or incentive schemes related to the number of PCNs issued? Please provide relevant clauses from the contract that address this issue. The contract does not include any incentive or bonus scheme relating to the number of PCN’s issued.

3. PCN Data for All PCNs Issued Since Contract Award to NSL Services (2017-Present):
a) Detailed information on all PCNs issued by Wokingham Borough Council since the contract with NSL Services was awarded in 2017, specifically: By financial year
Oct 2017 -Mar 2018. 6,450 PCN’s issued. 4,789 Paid and 1,662 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
April 2018 – Mar 2019. 13,735 PCN’s issued. 11,204 Paid and 2,532 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
April 2019- Mar 2020. 14,666 PCN’s issued. 11,151 paid and 3,515 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
April 2020 – Mar 2021. 17,844 PCN’s issued. 12,436 paid and 5,418 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
April 2021 – Mar 2022. 17,843 PCN’s issued. 12,465 paid and 5,378 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
April 2022 – Mar 2023. 18,758 PCN’s issued. 15,826 Paid and 2,923 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
April 2023 -Mar 2024. 29,106 PCN’s issued. 19,682 Paid 4,143, still active at various stages in the process, and 5,281 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
April 2024 – August 18 2024. 8,069 PCN’S issued. 5,506 paid 1,377 still active at various stages in the process, and 1,186 successfully challenged at informal or representation or appeal or cancelled.
b) The total number of PCNs issued annually from 2017 to the present: As above
c) The number of informal challenges submitted in response to these PCNs and how many of these were responded to by NSL Services: All informal challenges are dealt with by our contractors NSL.
d) The number of informal challenges that were rejected by NSL Services: As above
e) The number of formal written representations submitted to the Council as per the statutory procedure: As above
f) The number of formal written representations that were rejected by Wokingham Borough Council: As above.
We are unable to break it down further without reviewing every PCN issued which would take over 400 hours which is outside the scope of the FOI requirements without payment. (Section 12)