Department for Education awards HE cost research to KPMG LLP

Tender information last checkedLast checked 16 Oct 2026, 12:40.

Opportunity overview

This research will again compare the costs of provision across providers, subjects, and regions, and for different levels and modes of undergraduate study. In addition, this research aims to gain more forensic insights into the actual costs of provision by scrutinising and challenging providers costings returns to understand the extent to which costs of provision are influenced by the spending decisions that HE providers choose to take. The findings from this research will be used to inform and support policy development relating to HE funding.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

KPMG LLP

Matched by exact name

Published award value: £250k
Awarded: 9 Apr 2025
Award ID: ocds-b5fd17-5134e27c-b67c-449d-89e7-92e3a879c33b-1
Status: active

Classification

CPV73000000 — Research and development services and related consultancy services

Documents and notices

Awarded contract notice on Contracts FinderOpen source ↗
n/aOpen source ↗
n/aOpen source ↗
n/aOpen source ↗

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id: tender_472259/1471757
Status: complete
Procurement Method: selective
Procurement Method Details: Call-off from a framework agreement
Main Procurement Category: services

Classification

Scheme: CPV
Id: 73000000
Description: Research and development services and related consultancy services

Tender Period

Ends: 24 Feb 2025, 23:59

Contract period

Starts: 11 Apr 2025, 00:00
Ends: 8 Jan 2026, 23:59

Suitability

Sme: Yes
Vcse: Yes

Items and delivery

Item 1

Id: 1

Delivery locations

Entry 1

Country Name: British Oversea Territories

Entry 2

Country Name: Channel Islands

Entry 3

Country Name: Europe

Entry 4

Country Name: Isle of Man

Entry 5

Country Name: Rest of the World

Entry 6

Country Name: United Kingdom

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1

Id: GB-CFS-312084
Name: Department for Education

Identifier

Legal Name: Department for Education

Address

Street Address: Sanctuary Buildings
Locality: London,
Postal Code: SW1P 3BT
Country Name: England

Contact

Email: Matthieu.POULLIN@EDUCATION.GOV.UK

Roles

buyer

Organisation 2

Id: GB-CFS-315674
Name: KPMG LLP

Identifier

Legal Name: KPMG LLP

Address

Street Address: EastWest, Tollhouse Hill, Nottingham, NG1 5FS

Details

Scale: large
Vcse: No

Roles

supplier

Award information

Award 1

Id: ocds-b5fd17-5134e27c-b67c-449d-89e7-92e3a879c33b-1
Status: active
Date: 10 Apr 2025, 00:00
Published: 23 Apr 2025, 11:41

Value

Amount: 250,000
Currency: GBP

Suppliers

Supplier 1

Id: GB-CFS-315674
Name: KPMG LLP

Contract period

Starts: 11 Apr 2025, 00:00
Ends: 8 Jan 2026, 23:59

Documents

Entry 1

Id: 1
Document Type: awardNotice
Description: Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
Url: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e642afe0-ff1c-4498-99b5-8ca08d4f1c64 ↗
Published: 23 Apr 2025, 11:41
Date Modified: 16 Oct 2026, 11:30
Format: text/html
Language: en

Entry 2

Id: 4
Description: n/a
Url: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/e58826f1-60eb-4ee0-9155-0f05bbc10087 ↗
Format: application/pdf

Entry 3

Id: 5
Description: n/a
Url: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/48fc84ab-2b45-4c3f-82d7-5318f4f1c166 ↗
Format: application/pdf

Entry 4

Id: 6
Description: n/a
Url: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/a1604964-2983-4236-8bce-cce11ac0d6b0 ↗
Format: application/pdf

Recorded locations

Buyer location · London, · SW1P 3BT · England
Delivery location · British Oversea Territories
Delivery location · Channel Islands
Delivery location · Europe
Delivery location · Isle of Man
Delivery location · Rest of the World
Delivery location · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION

e642afe0-ff1c-4498-99b5-8ca08d4f1c64-918153Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder · 16 Oct 2026, 11:30

PROCURAAXIS AWARD ANALYSIS

Award outcome intelligence

Evidence-bound analysis of the published award appears below the official tender and award information.

ANALYSIS PREVIEW

Award intelligence at a glance

The Department for Education awarded a call-off research engagement to KPMG LLP for analysis of undergraduate provision and qualification costs in England. The award value is £250,000; the published tender value is separately stated as £290,197.50.

Published outcome signals

Notice typeAwarded contract notice on Contracts FinderEvidence: Document 1 is titled “Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder”.
Award statusActive award recordEvidence: Award ocds-b5fd17-5134e27c-b67c-449d-89e7-92e3a879c33b-1 has status “active”.
Award date10 April 2025Evidence: The award record date is 2025-04-10T00:00:00+01:00.

94% approved-analysis confidence1 supplier record analysed4 source limitations

SOURCE AND FRESHNESS

Traceable procurement data

Source: Contracts Finder
Notice reference: e642afe0-ff1c-4498-99b5-8ca08d4f1c64-918153
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-5134e27c-b67c-449d-89e7-92e3a879c33b
First published: 16 Oct 2026
Last checked: 16 Oct 2026, 12:40
Notice versions reviewed: 1

View Contracts Finder notice ↗

HOW THIS WAS PREPARED

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.

Analysis status: Approved for publication
Analysed: 16 Oct 2026

Read the analysis methodology →

AWARD OUTCOME

What happened

Published outcome

One active award record names KPMG LLP. The notice records a contract period from 11 April 2025 to 8 January 2026, but does not explicitly evidence signature.

Market significance

This is a specialist higher-education funding research and consultancy commission procured through a framework call-off.

AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS

1 supplier record analysed

KPMG LLP

99% confidence

Award ocds-b5fd17-5134e27c-b67c-449d-89e7-92e3a879c33b-1 · 250000 GBP · active award

View supporting evidence

The award names KPMG LLP as supplier and states an award value of £250,000. Supplier identity is verified by exact-name match to company number OC301540.

LIFECYCLE

Award or contract stage

Notice type

99% confidence

Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

View supporting evidence

Document 1 is titled “Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder”.

Award status

98% confidence

Active award record

View supporting evidence

Award ocds-b5fd17-5134e27c-b67c-449d-89e7-92e3a879c33b-1 has status “active”.

Award date

98% confidence

10 April 2025

View supporting evidence

The award record date is 2025-04-10T00:00:00+01:00.

Contract signature

98% confidence

Unknown

View supporting evidence

The supplied award notice and record do not explicitly state that a contract was signed.

VALUES

Published values explained

Award value

99% confidence

£250,000

View supporting evidence

Award value amount is 250000 GBP.

Published tender value

99% confidence

£290,197.50

View supporting evidence

The tender value is stated as 290197.5 GBP.

TIMELINE

Procurement timeline

Tender submission deadline

98% confidence

24 February 2025, 23:59 UTC

View supporting evidence

Tender period endDate is 2025-02-24T23:59:00Z.

Award date

98% confidence

10 April 2025

View supporting evidence

Award date is 2025-04-10.

Award notice publication

98% confidence

23 April 2025

View supporting evidence

The award notice document datePublished is 2025-04-23T11:41:59+01:00.

Recorded contract period

98% confidence

11 April 2025 to 8 January 2026

View supporting evidence

The award and tender contractPeriod fields state these start and end dates.

SCOPE

What was awarded

Requirement

99% confidence

Research into costs of undergraduate provision and qualifications in England

View supporting evidence

The description covers comparisons across providers, subjects, regions, and study levels and modes, with scrutiny of provider costing returns to inform HE funding policy.

Primary classification

99% confidence

CPV 73000000 — Research and development services and related consultancy services

View supporting evidence

The tender classification identifies CPV 73000000.

Delivery coverage

92% confidence

United Kingdom and other listed territories/regions

View supporting evidence

Delivery addresses include the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Europe, British Overseas Territories and Rest of the World.

PROCEDURE

Procedure and competition

Procurement method

99% confidence

Selective

View supporting evidence

The procurementMethod field is “selective”.

Procurement route

99% confidence

Call-off from a framework agreement

View supporting evidence

The procurementMethodDetails field states this route.

Competition information

99% confidence

Not supplied in the published notice

View supporting evidence

No bid count, bidder list, evaluation scores or selection rationale is supplied.

CONTRACT TERMS

Published contract terms

Recorded period

98% confidence

11 April 2025 to 8 January 2026

View supporting evidence

Award contractPeriod startDate and endDate provide these dates.

Extensions or options

99% confidence

Unknown

View supporting evidence

No extension or option terms are supplied.

SME/VCSE suitability flag

96% confidence

SME: yes; VCSE: yes

View supporting evidence

Tender suitability fields mark both SME and VCSE as true.

COMMERCIAL VIEW

Commercial observations

Value variance

99% confidence

The £250,000 award value is £40,197.50 below the separately published £290,197.50 tender value.

View supporting evidence

Tender value is £290,197.50 and award value is £250,000.

Route implication

93% confidence

The framework call-off route means competition may have been limited to framework suppliers; the notice does not disclose the number of bids or call-off evaluation.

View supporting evidence

The procurement route is a call-off from a framework agreement; competition details are absent.

ANALYSIS QUALITY

94%overall confidence

Confidence reflects the completeness and consistency of the published award data.

Reference: ocds-b5fd17-5134e27c-b67c-449d-89e7-92e3a879c33b
Analysed: 16 Oct 2026

APPROVED AWARD ANALYSIS

BUYER CONTEXT

Buyer context

Buyer

99% confidence

Department for Education

View supporting evidence

The buyer party is identified as Department for Education.

Buyer location

98% confidence

London, England

View supporting evidence

Buyer address lists Sanctuary Buildings, London, SW1P 3BT, England.

SUPPLIER CONTEXT

Supplier context

Verified legal supplier

99% confidence

KPMG LLP

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification records an exact-name match to verified company number OC301540, with status Active.

Supplier scale

95% confidence

Large

View supporting evidence

The supplier party details list scale as large.

RENEWAL OUTLOOK

Renewal outlook

Estimated renewal reference point

90% confidence

After 8 January 2026

View supporting evidence

This is calculated solely from the explicit recorded contract end date; it is not a procurement forecast.

DATA QUALITY

Gaps and source limitations

Status-date inconsistency

98% confidence

The award remains marked active although its recorded end date is 8 January 2026.

View supporting evidence

Award status is active; contractPeriod endDate is 2026-01-08.

Publication-date inconsistency

99% confidence

The top-level record says published/updated on 16 October 2026, while the award notice document says published on 23 April 2025.

View supporting evidence

Top-level published_at is 2026-10-16; document datePublished is 2025-04-23.

Value discrepancy

99% confidence

Tender and award values differ; neither field explains the basis of the difference.

View supporting evidence

Tender value is £290,197.50 and award value is £250,000.

Supplier identity quality

99% confidence

Supplier identity is verified.

View supporting evidence

Exact-name verification identifies KPMG LLP with company number OC301540.

SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS

Information not supplied in the published notice

The notice does not explicitly evidence contract signature, so the recorded period should not be treated as proof of a signed contract.
Information not supplied in the published notice: bid count, evaluation criteria and scores, reasons for award, pricing breakdown, lot allocation, extension terms and renewal terms.
The record contains unresolved status and date inconsistencies: an active award status after the recorded end date, and conflicting top-level versus document publication dates.
The published tender value (£290,197.50) differs from the award value (£250,000), with no explanation of value basis or variance.

MARKET THEMES

Relevant award themes

COMMON QUESTIONS

About this award

Who won the contract?

KPMG LLP is named as the verified supplier on the single award record.

What is the award value?

The award record states £250,000. A separate tender value of £290,197.50 is also published.

When was the recorded contract period?

11 April 2025 to 8 January 2026.

ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.

Understanding the cost of undergraduate provision and qualifications in the HE sector in England_con_27513

Opportunity overview

Awarded to

KPMG LLP

Classification

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Scope, procedure and submissions

Classification

Tender Period

Contract period

Suitability

Items and delivery

Delivery locations

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Identifier

Address

Details

Roles

Award information

Value

Suppliers

Contract period

Documents

Recorded locations

Notice and amendment history

Award intelligence at a glance

Published outcome signals

Traceable procurement data

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

Continue your research