BP1031 - Housing Benefit Subsidy Assurance Services

Broxtowe Borough Council is conducting the procurement exercise on behalf of the Council's listed below, to establish contracts for the supply of Housing Benefit Assurance Services.

• Broxtowe Borough Council

• Gedling Borough Council

• Newark and Sherwood District Council

• Rushcliffe Borough Council

(The Council/s)

Each of the participating Councils will award contracts separately and day-to-day transactions under the agreement will be conducted between the appointed Service Provider (Auditor) and the particular Council concerned. In any event, any formal contracts which emerge from this process will be entered into separately with the Service Provider by each council, with no relationship of joint or several liabilities between them.

The Council requires a Service Provider (Auditor) to audit their Housing Benefit (HB) Subsidy Grant claims in England, commencing with the subsidy period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. (equivalent dates for any extension period), to meet the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) requirements to give the DWP assurance of a valid and true claim. The Service Provider will conduct testing of all Housing Benefit Assurance Procedure (HBAP) aspects of the audit.

Bidders must be currently registered on the Local Public Audit Register and available to facilitate the HBAP in respect of the FYE ending March 2023 and FYE March 2024, as detailed in the LA Welfare Direct Bulletin - LAWD 12/2022, otherwise your bid will fail.

The initial contract period is 12 months. The contract is estimated to commence 1 April 2024 and expire 31 March 2025.

There will be an option to extend the contract for 24 months in 12 month increments, subject to satisfactory performance and business needs. Maximum contract period is 36 months, covering 2023, 2024 and 2025 audit requirements

Please visit the Council's e-tendering system https://www.eastmidstenders.org where you can express interest and obtain the documents, (please note we will only accept expressions of interest through the e-tendering system). Please search for BP1031.