Financial Software System

The Council considers that the award of the contract to UNIT4 is permitted by Regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR). Regulation 32 of the PCR allows contracting authorities to award a public contract by a negotiated procedure without prior publication in specified circumstances. Regulation 32(2)(c) allows the award of a public contract by negotiated procedure without prior publication for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, where the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with. UNIT4 gave notice that it would unilaterally withdraw its on premise software support from31st December 2024 and the Council considers that it has insufficient time to conduct market testing, performing a full scoping and specification exercise, carrying out an adequate procurement exercise and implementing a new cloud based solution. This is one of the Council's most fundamental and strategic software systems and the Council cannot risk operating on an unsupported finance system. Accordingly, the award of a contract to UNIT4 pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(c) is necessary, for reasons of extreme urgency, to enable the Council to ensure that it has business continuity and maintains statutory compliance. The Council has awarded a contract to UNIT4 for the minimum necessary period offered by UNIT4 and the Council will therefore be able in that time to review its potential options and carry out a procurement exercise.