Third Party Verification and Validation of the STEP Whole Programme Cost Estimate

The STEP Programme has a requirement to submit their first whole programme cost estimate to HM Treasury in early Q4 2026. As such, UKFE seeks to appoint an external party to perform the necessary independent verification and validation (V&V) activities of the Whole Programme Cost Estimate, to support the submission to Government, and help inform best practice for future iterations. Although the submission is not part of a formal business case, this V&V activity should be performed as appropriate for Finance Cases following the UK Government 5 case model. Please note that this procurement was undertaken via the MCF4 Framework (Lot 3). This was explicitly stated in the procedure description within the published tender notice and was reiterated in all communications issued to prospective suppliers and bidders throughout the procurement process, thereby ensuring transparency, consistency, and equal treatment of all parties.