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Universities purchasing consortium to procure £30m legal services framework

The London Universities Purchasing Consortium has given notice of its to procure the latest version of a multi-provider framework agreement for the provision of legal services in England and Wales worth an estimated £30m.

As with the framework announced in 2017, to which Kent County Council Legal Services (now Invicta Law) and 21 firms were appointed, the framework will be available to the members of:

  • North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium.
  • North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium.
  • Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium.
  • London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC).
  • Higher Education Purchasing Consortium, Wales.

Members include higher education, further education, schools, the wider public sector and not for profit institutions.

In a prior information notice LUPC said that as a guide the lot structure may include:

  1. Property (Estates).
  2. Human Resources (including Human Resources dispute resolution).
  3. Dispute resolution (all dispute resolution/ litigation except human resources dispute resolution).
  4. Governance (constitutional, charity, higher education, academic registry).
  5. Commercial.
  6. Student matters.
  7. One-stop-shop.

Other lot options are being considered, including restrictions on the number of lots that one tenderer can be awarded, and the number of suppliers awarded to any one lot.

The framework agreement is estimated to commence in March 2021.

Values provided are estimated based on historic and potential activity.

Suppliers interested in the prior information notice and future tender can register to attend an on-line supplier engagement meeting on Tuesday 8 September 2020 at 10.00 for approximately 2 hours (via TEAMS).

“The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed scope and structure of the framework, initial thoughts about the procurement strategy and choice of procurement route and other areas to ensure maximum competition in the tender process and how we can develop the pricing schedule(s) to enable clarity, transparency and fairness, whilst supporting members to achieve best value,” LUPC said.