Issue - meetings

A report was presented which explained the circumstances of KPMG’s request for £15,000 for its work in identifying Local Government reorganisation options for Surrey.  The eleven Surrey Districts / Boroughs had originally commissioned KPMG to prepare alternative proposals to the single Surrey unitary model being pursued by Surrey County Council in the summer of 2020. A fee of £10,000 per District / Borough had been agreed, with TDC’s contribution being ratified by this Committee on the 17^th August 2020.

Subsequently, following the delay to the anticipated Devolution White Paper, the scope of KPMG’s engagement was extended to identify areas for large scale collaborative / shared services and for public relations work in promoting the case for alternative Surrey reorganisation solutions to a single unitary. These extended terms of engagement, with a request for a further £20,000, were considered by the Committee on 22nd September 2020. However, the Committee rejected this additional funding request given that the immediate prospect of a single Surrey Unitary initiative appeared to be receding.

The report advised that an agreement, on behalf of all Surrey Districts and Boroughs, had since been entered into which committed all eleven authorities to pay an additional £5,000 to KPMG for the development of the collaborative /shared service options, but not the PR work in light of the delay to the Devolution White Paper. The report explained that, unfortunately, there was no audit trail regarding the Council being party to the agreement and that an invoice from KPMG for the total £15,000 due from Tandridge had since been received. 

During the debate, the Chief Finance Officer confirmed that the invoice had not yet been paid. While most Members acknowledged that the Council was obliged to pay the invoice and that the work done by KPMG was beneficial, concern was expressed at the apparent lack of internal governance regarding the sequence of events since the 22^nd September 2020.

          R E S O L V E D– that the payment of an additional £5,000 to KPMG for consultancy support work on a joint District and Borough Council outline proposal for the development of alternatives to a single unitary structure for Local Government in Surrey be agreed.