Background
Having successfully completed the catering tender three years previously, Litmus was appointed to conduct a contract review and report to the Governing Body on whether the school should extend the existing contract for a further two years.
Brief
Litmus’ brief was clear – to identify and assist the school with selecting a new catering partner that would supply the highest quality of catering and meet the exacting needs to deliver robust controls and financial transparency.
Approach
Simon Biggs, the Litmus Partnership, said: “Following our review, it became evident that financial irregularities and erroneous activity had been continuing, resulting in significant over charging to the school. Whilst Litmus was able to secure a sizable compensation from the incumbent contractor, the situation left the school with a failed relationship and therefore Litmus was subsequently appointed to conduct a tender exercise with the clear brief to appoint a new catering partner.
“Due to the urgency of making a change of contractor it was necessary for Litmus to follow an ‘Accelerated Procedure’ which required the entire process to be completed in three months. This required Litmus to leverage additional resources to ensure each stage was executed at pace, but still afforded the same attention to detail.”
Outcomes
A new catering partner was appointed which could deliver the necessary controls and measures to deliver a superior dependable catering service. Given the schools’ previous experience, the contract model provided the school with suitable means of penalising the contractor for failures in financial and quality performance.
Litmus is continuing their work and monitoring the ongoing financial and operational performance of the contractor, ensuring the school continues to receive transparent and robust reporting of its catering service.
