To continue with existing accreditation to support the delivery of apprenticeships throughout the year.
2.1 Exemption from procurement rules
(e) Where the work is of a specialist nature and the Corporate Director/Head of Department can demonstrate that is it not possible to obtain more than one quotation or tender.

To grant an exemption from the Council's procurement rules to enable use of existing awarding body Pearson for ongoing supply of certification and examination delivery (£8000 excluding vat).

•Lack of ESFA approved awarding bodies that are able to support the subject areas we offer
•If an alternative was found we would need to be accredited with them which would take time and be at an additional cost. This would disrupt the ongoing delivery and have a financial impact.
•To ensure continuity to be able to deliver the best Apprenticeship programme possible
•To ensure that we meet our contractual requirements with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to not affect our future service offer.