Guide / Approve
Before signing: build a decision your governing body can understand
A good approval paper explains the recommendation, its uncertainties and who will manage the outcome. It should be possible to reconstruct the decision without relying on the person who negotiated it.
Write the decision before the quotation deadline
Energy quotations can have short validity windows. Set the procurement route, evaluation criteria and delegated authority before firm pricing arrives. The governing body or authorised committee can establish the permitted decision process and financial limits in advance, with final approval made by the right people against the actual offer. This preparation does not mean signing an unpriced agreement or allowing the broker to commit the school.
Keep an evidence folder with the approved specification, supplier responses, evaluation, conflicts record, full terms, recommendation and authorisation. Record which version was accepted and its timestamp. If prices change, refresh the calculations and obtain the approval required by your delegation rules.
The front page should answer six questions
| Question | What the paper should show |
|---|---|
| What are we deciding? | Legal customer, sites, fuels, supply dates, term and any extension options. |
| Why this route? | Procurement procedure, whole-term value and the relevant school or trust policy. |
| What did we compare? | Same demand and dates, competing routes, timestamps, scope and missing information. |
| Why this offer? | Delivered cost, services, contract flexibility, risks and reasons alternatives were rejected. |
| What could change? | Usage, pass-through charges, tax, planned site or demand changes, project approval/funding dependencies, fees and adverse scenarios. |
| Who remains responsible? | Approver, signatory, implementation owner, invoice reviewer and renewal owner. |
Use the right governance appendix
Academy trusts taking an alternative to DfE-approved arrangements need the route comparison, written evaluation, governance record and SRMSAC supporting evidence described in DfE's implementation guidance. Make those outputs easy to locate. A favourable headline tariff does not replace the complete value-for-money case.
Maintained schools should reference the actual local authority financing scheme, relevant financial rules, delegated authority and existing contract obligations. Record any permission or coordination needed with the authority. Independent schools should use their company or charity's delegation and decision process, establish who owns the supply liability and record relevant trustee or governor considerations.
Compare risk openly
Use one comparable base case, then show how the conclusion changes. A fixed product with defined exclusions, a pass-through offer and a managed flexible arrangement do not carry identical uncertainty. Do not disguise that difference by assigning an unsupported single future market price to each one.
The assessment can value workload, responsive account management or data access, provided the service is specified and the reasons are documented. Avoid inventing a monetary saving for time that will not actually be released, or awarding vague service scores without evidence. Keep any judgement separate from arithmetic.
Where the agreement depends on a climate or estate measure, distinguish approval of the energy supply from approval of the project. Reference its decision and funding status, technical forecast and credible timing cases. Explain the flexibility being bought, any constraint accepted and whether the final supply terms require a revised project appraisal.
Give each unresolved dependency an owner, due date and evidence needed for release. State what must be resolved before acceptance and how a changed forecast or refreshed offer returns for approval. A climate-plan target, completed online record or draft project paper is not an authorisation to make either commitment.
Eight checks before acceptance
- The procurement procedure and any required notices, assessment summaries or standstill have been completed at the right time.
- The final rates, included charges, exclusions, dates and meter list match the offer evaluated.
- The full TPI remuneration is disclosed, and embedded commission has not been counted twice.
- The supply agreement, broker service agreement and letter of authority have each been reviewed within their own scope.
- Volume tolerance, site changes, termination, renewal and change-in-law terms are understood against the supported project and demand cases.
- Tax, credit, deposits and separate meter/data contracts are resolved or expressly escalated.
- An authorised person accepts through the agreed process and retains evidence of acceptance.
- The mobilisation plan, first-bill check and next review dates have named owners; any linked project condition has the required release evidence.
Your next action
Use the approval-paper template in the buying toolkit. Ask someone outside the procurement exercise to read the recommendation and explain why it is preferred. If they cannot identify the cost, risk, authority and next responsibility, improve the paper before signing. The toolkit helps organise evidence; it cannot certify that a particular purchase is legally compliant.