Councils in South of England to procure £60m legal services framework

The councils in Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex are to procure a legal services framework agreement worth £60m over six years.

The procurement is being led by Surrey County Council on behalf of itself, the other local authorities that are part of Orbis Public Law (“OPL”: Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council, Surrey County Council and West Sussex County Council) and the district and borough councils within the OPL counties.

The framework agreement consists of multiple lots covering transactional casework and counsel / advocacy legal services in various areas/specialisms.

The lots are as follows:

1. Adult Social Care

2. Pensions

3. SEN Tribunals & Education

4. Commercial Law, Contracts & Procurement, Telecoms and IT Law, Construction Law

5. FOI, GDPR, Monitoring Officer, Local Government Law, Information Law and Media

6. Environment, Highways, Planning, Property and Housing

7. Litigation including (but not limited to) Civil, Criminal, Environmental Health, Licencing and Housing, Employment and Contentious Construction

8. Legal Counsel/Advocacy Services for Lots 1-7

9A. Children’s Social Care - Part A - Transactional Case Work

9B. Children’s Social Care - Part B - Counsel/Advocacy

10. Costs Lawyer Services

11. Loss Adjusters

The term is three years plus a three-year optional extension period.

Yesterday the Surrey Administrators and Solicitors – a consortium of eleven local authorities in the county – announced plans to set up a framework agreement for property and regeneration legal services worth an estimated £8m over four years.