Further education estates planning Case study: Peter Symonds Sixth Form College

Fees

Project costs were monitored by the operational project team and reported to the Policy and Resources Committee. Every professional consultant and contractor line was monitored individually against budget. All invoices were approved in line with financial regulations and recorded as evidence to support the grant claim. The actual final project cost was under budget at £4.2 million against a budgeted £4.5 million, and £200,000 grant funding was not required from DfE due to the underspend. The underspend was a result of robust financial monitoring and tight budget management. The estates manager and the director of finance worked closely with the main contractor, the principal designer or project manager, quantity surveyor and the rest of the project team to ensure the spending was on track. There was a 3-way checking process, including sign off by the independent cost consultant or quantity surveyor before releasing any payments. The SMT and governors were kept fully informed of budget