A practical guide for public sector organisations needing immediate audit, risk and governance support
A whitepaper By Littlechild & Haley
When something significant happens, the last thing an organisation needs is a procurement process that moves more slowly than the risk. A governance failure, leadership gap, regulatory concern, cyber incident, whistleblowing matter or growing audit backlog can require independent support in days, not months.
That does not mean compliance should be put to one side. It means using established procurement routes that can help an organisation act quickly. Littlechild & Haley is an approved supplier on four public sector procurement arrangements: NHS Shared Business Services Audit Services for Health, Countess of Chester Audit and Assurance Services, Procurement Assist and Essex County Council. Together, these arrangements make our services accessible to a wide range of NHS bodies, councils, housing organisations, universities, charities, emergency services and other public bodies.
The reality behind an urgent requirement
Procurement teams may be asked to respond when an internal audit service has failed, a key assurance role is vacant, a regulator has intervened or a Board needs an independent view quickly. The requirement may be an External Quality Assessment (EQA), governance review, urgent investigation, cyber assurance assignment, financial controls review or simply the capacity to get an audit plan moving again.
In those circumstances, the real question is rarely, “Who is the cheapest supplier?” It is, “How do we appoint a competent supplier quickly, remain compliant and avoid allowing the problem to get worse?”
That is where an approved framework can earn its keep. It is not a way around procurement. It is a procurement route already established by the relevant framework authority, enabling an eligible organisation to access appointed suppliers in accordance with the framework’s terms and its own governance requirements.
What Direct Award means in practice
Direct Award allows an eligible organisation to appoint an approved supplier without running a further competition. The organisation must follow the award mechanism, evaluation provisions and documentation requirements set out in that framework.
The NHS SBS Audit Services for Health Framework provides both Further Competition and Direct Award routes, while our other appointments provide additional compliant routes depending on the organisation, requirement and applicable terms.
The important point is that the framework provider has already completed the competitive exercise. Suppliers have been assessed and appointed through the process used to establish the framework. The contracting authority is therefore choosing from an approved supplier population, using the information available through the framework on services, pricing, delivery and social value.
That route is particularly valuable when delay would increase risk. An incumbent audit provider may have withdrawn, a regulator may require an independent review, a Board may need urgent assurance or an Audit Committee deadline may be approaching. Waiting several months to begin the work can be more difficult to defend than using an established framework route promptly and documenting the decision properly.
Why the framework route matters
These procurement appointments provide public sector and not-for-profit organisations with a range of established procurement routes for internal audit, independent assurance, risk, governance and related specialist support.
On the NHS SBS framework, we are approved on Lot 2 for Internal Audit Services and Lot 5 for Audit & Governance Ancillary Services. On the Countess of Chester procurement arrangement, we are appointed to Lot 1 for Internal Audit & Assurance and Lot 4 for Other Independent Assurance. Procurement Assist includes us within Category 1 for Internal Audit, while our Essex County Council appointment provides a further route into public sector work. For an eligible organisation, the practical point is simple: there may already be a compliant route to appoint us without starting from scratch.
View our procurement framework appointments.
A Direct Award is most straightforward to justify when the requirement is clear, the need is urgent, the selected supplier has the right specialist capability and the framework provides sufficient information to demonstrate value. Continuity also matters. Moving quickly can reduce mobilisation time, management effort and the operational risk created by an assurance gap.
Making and recording the decision
A good decision does not need a long paper trail, but it does need a clear one. The record should explain what is required, why action is needed now, which procurement arrangement and lot or category are being used, why the selected supplier is suitable and how value for money has been demonstrated. It should also state plainly what risk the organisation would carry if the work were delayed.
That gives procurement colleagues, budget holders and governance committees a concise account of the decision. It also shows that urgency was considered alongside capability, price, compliance and organisational risk rather than used as a substitute for them.
Procurement teams are not usually looking for another supplier to manage. They are looking for a solution to a live problem. Littlechild & Haley is senior-led, fast-moving and deliberately low in bureaucracy. We specialise in governance, risk and assurance and understand the pace, scrutiny and practical realities of the public sector.
For organisations that need to move quickly, Audit On Call™ keeps our side of the onboarding process simple, with a clear scope, timescale and fees agreed at the outset.
The work that can be commissioned includes fully outsourced or co-sourced internal audit, specialist audit reviews, governance and Board effectiveness reviews, committee assurance, risk maturity work, strategic risk workshops, EQAs, independent assessments, IT audit, cyber assurance and digital governance reviews.
The commercial reality
The timetable will depend on the organisation’s approvals and the requirements of the chosen framework. Littlechild & Haley can hold the initial requirements call and issue a simple letter of engagement within 30 minutes. Where the organisation is authorised to proceed and the relevant framework steps can be completed promptly, mobilisation may begin the same day. More complex requirements may take several days, but the process would still be considerably faster than starting a new procurement exercise.
Every week spent waiting for procurement completion is another week that:
- Risks remain unmanaged
- Assurance gaps remain open
- Audit plans fall behind
- Committees lack assurance
- Regulators receive incomplete evidence
Direct Award can prevent procurement becoming a barrier to managing risk.
Used appropriately, it provides:
- Speed
- Compliance
- Transparency
- Value for money
- Reduced organisational risk
Conclusion
Public sector frameworks are not simply procurement vehicles. They are risk management tools.
Through NHS Shared Business Services, Countess of Chester Hospital Commercial Procurement Services, Procurement Assist and Essex County Council, eligible organisations have established routes to access specialist governance, risk and assurance expertise when it is needed. The precise award route will depend on the rules of the relevant procurement arrangement, but the principle is the same: use procurement already put in place rather than assume every urgent requirement needs a new tender from the beginning.
When urgency, value, capability and compliance matter, Direct Award can be the fastest route to securing independent assurance and protecting organisational outcomes.
At Littlechild & Haley, our philosophy is simple: we help organisations manage risks to success.
And sometimes the biggest risk of all is waiting too long to act.
