Purpose

The existing contract

Property have a contract with CIPFA, which is valid up to 31st
March 2026, at total awarded contract sum of £121k (including
contingency) plus additional £30k expenditure prior to 1st
April 2025. The contract covers contract work with property for two
days a week at an agreed daily rate of £1,100.

The additional requirement

The Community Asset Transfer and Support Programme is a large scale
piece of work that the Council is seeking to deliver at significant
pace due to the upcoming Local Government Reorganisation in Surrey.
Full Council agreed the work and the budget in September 2025. The
programme was launched on 5 November and 196 expressions of
interest were received by the initial closing date of 2 December
2025. The Council does not have sufficient internal specialist
property resource to deliver the programme to time in house and
therefore requires external support.

Therefore, this would increase the original awarded contract sum of
£121k to £182k triggering a variation of 50.00%.
Although based on the total value of contract, this is below the
Procurement Act threshold for services contracts and no published
contract change notices required, this is a substantial
modification. However, the original direct award of appointed CIPFA
was to support the Council with its property related advice, and
this new instruction is to include the additional service required
to support the Community Asset related activity. The volume of
responses was not anticipated to be this significant.

Reason for decision:
A variation to the CIPFA contract is proposed for three
reasons:
a) CIPFA bring a unique set of skills that is not found in other
providers. CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and
Accountancy) is the only professional body in the UK that
specialises solely in public services. CIPFA has a dedicated
Property Advisory Service that helps councils manage and invest in
property portfolios strategically. Local authorities must operate
within the CIPFA Prudential Code and Treasury Management Code,
which set rules for borrowing and investment. CIPFA ensures
property projects comply with these frameworks, reducing risks of
over-leverage or unsustainable investment. They are therefore
uniquely placed to support delivery and risk management in this
programme.
b) CIPFA know the Council because of the existing work they do and
are therefore able to immediately commence the work without any
onboarding
c) the time-line of the programme does not allow for a wider
procurement exercise to take place. The volume of expressions of
interest was higher than anticipated and key decisions must be
taken by 20 March 2026 and the work is due to complete by end June
2026.

Decision

Agree to extend the existing contract via a
variation with CIPFA by an additional value of £60,500 + VAT
to undertake property work related to the Community Asset Transfer
and Support Programme.

Alternative options considered

• Option 1: A tender exercise has been
considered for the work however judged not to be appropriate for
the reasons set out above.
•Option 2: Completing the specified work in house has been
considered however the volume and speed of work that must be
completed does not make this possible.