---
title: "Third Party Verification and Validation of the STEP Whole Programme Cost Estimate"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-069136"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-069136"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069136.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069136.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UK FUSION ENERGY LTD"
published: "2026-06-03"
---

# Third Party Verification and Validation of the STEP Whole Programme Cost Estimate

Buyer: UK FUSION ENERGY LTD  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-069136

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## Summary

UK Fusion Energy Ltd, based in Abingdon, has concluded the procurement process for the project titled "Third Party Verification and Validation of the STEP Whole Programme Cost Estimate." This initiative falls within the services industry category. The process utilised an open procurement method with a competitive flexible procedure and was conducted through the MCF4 Framework, Lot 3. The procurement stage reached the award phase, with KPMG LLP being selected as the supplier as of 2nd June 2026. The contract, valued at £175,000 (excluding VAT), covers the period from 11th June 2026 to 31st August 2026. The procurement aimed to aid the submission of a cost estimate to HM Treasury and establish best practices for future evaluations.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in financial verification and validation services. Given its requirements, companies with expertise in cost estimation, cost calculation, and assurance activities are particularly well-suited to compete for similar future procurements. The tender was open to large enterprises, while the procurement procedure encouraged participation through electronic submissions. Businesses aiming to engage with sub-central government authorities would benefit from aligning their capabilities to meet such strategic and technical demands, especially those prioritising quality and commercial value with a well-established delivery track record.

## Notice

The STEP Programme has a requirement to submit their first whole programme cost estimate to HM Treasury in early Q4 2026. As such, UKFE seeks to appoint an external party to perform the necessary independent verification and validation (V&V) activities of the Whole Programme Cost Estimate, to support the submission to Government, and help inform best practice for future iterations. Although the submission is not part of a formal business case, this V&V activity should be performed as appropriate for Finance Cases following the UK Government 5 case model. Please note that this procurement was undertaken via the MCF4 Framework (Lot 3). This was explicitly stated in the procedure description within the published tender notice and was reiterated in all communications issued to prospective suppliers and bidders throughout the procurement process, thereby ensuring transparency, consistency, and equal treatment of all parties.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052444-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 3 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 15 May 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Jun 2026 |
| Contract period | 10 Jun 2026 - 31 Aug 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £250,000 |
| Lots value | £250,000 |
| Awards value | £175,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UK FUSION ENERGY LTD |
| Locality | ABINGDON |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode | OX14 3DB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |
| Local authority | South Oxfordshire |
| Electoral ward | Sandford & the Wittenhams |
| Westminster constituency | Didcot and Wantage |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | KPMG |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 71242000 - Project and design preparation, estimation of costs
- 71244000 - Calculation of costs, monitoring of costs

## Release History

- 3 Jun 2026 at 14:19 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052444-2026
- 5 May 2026 at 11:22 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040956-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052444-2026
  3rd June 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040956-2026
  5th May 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://ukifs.delta-esourcing.com/respond/B8K449P4YD
- 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-069136. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069136.json.