Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST MADE FOR THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services:

1.    Approved an initial budget to fund a defined discovery and initiation phase totalling £1,922,653.19.

2.    Noted that Haringey Council’s ERP replacement programme had moved from an initial foundational phase into a discovery and initiation stage.

3.    Noted that this next phase was essential to ensure the programme was positioned to proceed in a controlled, evidence?based and deliverable manner, with clear governance, mature requirements, and a robust understanding of cost, risk and delivery approach.

4.    Noted that an independent assessment had confirmed that the strategic direction to replace the Council’s existing ERP system remained sound and necessary. The next step was to build on this foundation through a structured discovery and initiation phase that would strengthen decision?making, validate options, refine scope, test the Council’s approach with the market and ensure the programme was ready to proceed at pace in a way that was affordable, compliant and defensible.

Reasons for Decision

The ERP programme had an approved budget of £150k for 2025/26, allocated to establish an initial programme team, fund early foundational activity, and begin developing high?level business cases and technical requirements across HR, Finance and Procurement.

A substantial amount of complex underpinning work had been delivered within this initial budget. This included maturing requirements across HR, Finance and Procurement; building organisational understanding; clarifying scope; and identifying risks, dependencies and constraints. This foundational activity had been essential in shaping the programme and created a strong platform from which to progress into a structured and effective discovery and initiation phase.

It had become clear that the initial budget was insufficient not only for the activity delivered to date but, importantly, for the next detailed discovery phase. This next phase needed to complete requirements development, validate options and produce a robust, fully costed business case to support full programme approval. The Council needed to evidence best value for money for what would be a substantial investment required to support day?to?day operations.

The additional budget requested would support a series of critical readiness activities that could not be delivered within existing capacity or funding. These included:

• Strengthening programme governance and controls, formalising Senior Responsible Officer authority, setting decision thresholds and establishing a Programme Management Office to manage planning and the RAID log.
• Establishing a single cross?functional Requirements Working Group (Finance, HR, Procurement, Digital) to complete and prioritise functional and non?functional requirements.
• Conducting controlled market engagement and testing, including creation of a compliant supplier data room, parity protocols and structured market?testing materials.
• Defining and assuring the procurement strategy with appropriate procurement leadership and independent legal and commercial advice.
• Refreshing the costed options appraisal and 10?year Total Cost of Ownership, with staged funding approvals and strengthened financial governance.
• Mobilising data and change foundations, including appointing a Data Lead, initiating data discovery, agreeing migration and archiving principles, and beginning early business change planning.
• Supplementing in?house capability with ERP?experienced subject matter experts to ensure complex design decisions were Council?led, robust and aligned with best practice.