National body to set up legal services panels for social housing

A national procurement organisation for the social housing sector is to set up a legal services framework agreement worth anywhere between £1.25m and £60m.

Procurement for Housing, which is based in Warrington, will split the four-year framework into five lots:

• Property (range: £250,000 and £12m);
• Development (range: £250,000 and £12m);
• Corporate & Finance (range: £250,000 and £12m);
• Employment (range: £250,000 and £12m); and
• Housing management (range: £250,000 and £12m).

PfH said it expected the maximum number of participants to be 15. The purpose of the agreement, it added, was to provide a broad range of legal services for members of the organisation in England and Wales “who require legal advice or guidance on any aspect of their businesses within social housing”.

It said: “This framework presents a distinct offering and welcomes niche suppliers to apply for specific lots if they wish to do so.”

The estimated total lot values represent the potential spend ranges. “As no historical data was available, the values provided have been estimated and may change over the length of the contract,” PfH said, adding that all values were indicative and did not represent any guaranteed volume of business through the framework.

PfH also noted that given the impending abolition of the Part B classification of services in the EU Procurement Directives, which previously encompassed legal services, there was a high degree of uncertainty regarding the potential additional future demand for legal services via a framework route.

“This, coupled with the fact that this is a new framework area for PfH, and therefore no historical data exists internally, has meant that PfH have endeavoured to the best of their abilities to provide a range of values which it believes to be reflective of the potential demand for this contract,” it said.