West Midlands transport body Centro to set up £5m legal services panels

Centro, the body responsible for the delivery of public transport in the West Midlands, is to set up legal services panels worth up to £5m over four years.

The organisation said it was seeking to establish a framework agreement with three lots. These lots are:

  • Lot 1 - Full Service Provision;
  • Lot 2 - Regulatory Advice;
  • Lot 3 - Parliamentary Agents.

Centro said suppliers would be “required to demonstrate expertise in all areas in respect of which they are successfully appointed and to keep Centro and its in-house legal, procurement and governance professionals up to date regarding all developments within relevant areas of law”.

The organisation is also seeking ‘value added’ propositions from suppliers covering areas such as training, staff development, secondments, and access to research resources.

Centro said it intended to qualify to each lot up to four legal suppliers, although it reserved the right to qualify a higher or lower number dependent upon the quality of responses.

The contract will run from 13 July 2016, when its existing framework expires, to 12 July 2010. Centro will make the agreement available to a range of transport bodies as well as other local authorities in the UK. The scope of Lots 1 and 2 may also increase with the introduction of the West Midlands Combined Authority.

In its role Centro represents the seven metropolitan councils of the West Midlands: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.