---
title: "External Assurance Reviews of Local Authorities"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0551fe"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0551fe"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0551fe.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0551fe.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT"
published: "2026-06-16"
---

# External Assurance Reviews of Local Authorities

Buyer: MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0551fe

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## Summary

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is overseeing the procurement process for the "External Assurance Reviews of Local Authorities" under the tender ID CPD4128021. The procurement falls under the industry category of financial consultancy services and is aimed at conducting comprehensive external assurance reviews of local authorities in the United Kingdom, particularly those facing significant risk or demonstrating evidence of failure. The procurement process is currently in the implementation stage as of June 2026, with a focus on ensuring completed reviews are delivered within agreed timeframes. The Ministry, located at 2 Marsham Street, London, seeks to enhance governance processes, financial management, and sustainability through these reviews. The ongoing contract's performance metrics include cost adherence and timely submission of assessments, with social value deliverables slated between Q2 and Q3 of FY 2026/27.

This tender presents substantial opportunities for consultancy firms specialising in financial and governance reviews. Businesses with expertise in local government operations, risk assessment, and process improvement are ideal candidates to compete in this open procurement process. The project offers a chance to work closely with local authorities and contribute to sustainable public administration, providing an avenue for firms to expand their portfolio and demonstrate capability in managing complex challenges within the public sector. The involvement with the Ministry may also bolster a firm's reputation and facilitate access to further government contracts. Furthermore, the project's focus on social value offers the potential for businesses engaged in community initiatives to leverage their skills in delivering measurable societal benefits.

## Notice

To appoint an external Supplier that can quickly mobilise resources to coordinate and conduct external assurance reviews of local authorities where those local authorities are identified as carrying significant risk and / or exhibiting evidence of failure. The reviews may cover a range of subject areas that include but are not limited to: governance processes, financial management, financial sustainability, commercial and companies, and procurement and contract management. Reviews will include recommendations on appropriate steps local authorities could take to address the issues / risks identified. It is expected that the areas of focus for each review will not be mutually exclusive, and the Supplier is expected to consider the interdependencies across the different areas as required. There may be additional focuses for specific local authorities that may be included in review scopes, for instance, specific demand pressures or investments / companies that are driving financial pressures. External Assurance Reviews will be categorised as either (but not limited to) "in depth assessment (finance and governance)" - will encompass a wide scope across a range of subject areas "in depth assessment (finance)" - scopes which are principally focused on financial management & sustainability and/ or capital / debt & investments / assets, and improvement only "in depth assessment (governance)" - reviews focused on the governance, culture and leadership of organisation or service delivery (and improvement) - with only limited focus on financial elements of the authority under view "rapid review" (which could be financial or governance focused in nature) Under this contract the Supplier will be expected to deliver against the following objectives: Objective 1 - Delivering Reviews: To deliver to MHCLG completed external assurance reviews of local authorities to an agreed timeframe to enable timely actions to be taken in response to their findings; Objective 2 - Consistency and Quality: To ensure consistency of quality, depth, and presentation of external assurance reviews, and that all reviews meet a good standard of written English; Objective 3 - Constructive Working Relationships: To work constructively with local authorities subject to an external assurance review to ensure review analysis and findings are robust, and maintain as far as possible a collaborative working relationship between local authority, Supplier and MHCLG; Objective 4 - Due Diligence to Reduce Legal Risk: To ensure that conflicts of interest are managed appropriately, and that the Supplier undertakes due diligence to reduce legal risk in all respects, this includes ensuring appropriate due diligence where a review implicates an identifiable individual. Objective 5 - Resource Capacity: To ensure resource capacity and flexibility is provided so that reviews can continue to be delivered to the agreed timeframes, particularly where reviews are occurring concurrently. Objective 6 - Expertise: To ensure Supplier reviewers / review teams have the necessary experience, expertise, qualifications and understanding of the local authority sector, reflecting the review scope may flex subject to the issues identified in individual local authorities.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: There will be an optional extension period of two years (+1+1). The financial cap for the initial 12 months will be a maximum of PS1,500,000 ex VAT. Any extension period would be subject to requirements, a variation process, funding approval and performance of the supplier up to a maximum value of PS3,000,000 ex VAT (for the optional extension years). The maximum value of the contract including any extension years is PS4,500,000 ex VAT.

### Planning Information

To request a copy of the PME document please email the below address ensuring to insert 'CPD4128021 - Local Assurance Reviews" into the subject header of the email. 
Commercialtenders.gov.uk
Specific questions from the Authority are detailed in section 8 of the PME document.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/056560-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 16 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 3 Oct 2025 |
| Future notice date | 11 Jul 2025 |
| Award date | 21 Oct 2025 |
| Contract period | 28 Nov 2025 - 1 Dec 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £4,500,000 |
| Lots value | £4,500,000 |
| Awards value | £4,500,000 |
| Contracts value | £4,500,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
| Additional buyers | Missing |
| Locality | LONDON UNITED KINGDOM |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CIPFA BUSINESS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 66 - Financial and insurance services

### Codes

- 66171000 - Financial consultancy services

## Release History

- 16 Jun 2026 at 10:46 - Implementation - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/056560-2026
- 8 Apr 2026 at 09:33 - Implementation - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031789-2026
- 3 Dec 2025 at 13:21 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079356-2025
- 23 Oct 2025 at 13:23 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067853-2025
- 5 Sep 2025 at 13:17 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054317-2025
- 23 Jun 2025 at 15:05 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034487-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/056560-2026
  16th June 2026 - Contract performance notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031789-2026
  8th April 2026 - Contract performance notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079356-2025
  3rd December 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067853-2025
  23rd October 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054317-2025
  5th September 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034487-2025
  23rd June 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-4531
  Associated tender documents https://atamis-5407.my.site.com/login?locale=us The key documents supporting this procurement can be found and accessed in the Log on to the MHCLG Atamis e-procurement supplier website. The Authority will be administering the Procurement Process electronically via this eSourcing Portal. All communications with the Authority must be conducted via the Portal. Support is available to help Suppliers to understand and use the Portal or query any issues with the eSourcing Portal via the following link: https://suppliersupport.atamis.co.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/4612344115359 For urgent technical assistance please call the helpdesk, Phone 44 29 2280 9277 Operational Hours 08:00-18:00 Monday - Friday Excluding Public Holidays Guide to accessing the tender documents Access Tender in Portal (4).pdf

## Notice URLs

- http://www.cipfa.org
- https://atamis-5407.my.site.com/login?locale=us
- https://suppliersupport.atamis.co.uk/hc/en-gb/requests/new
- https://suppliersupport.atamis.co.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/4612344115359
- https://www.ey.com/en_uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0551fe. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0551fe.json.