Government fires gun on procurement of £430m legal services framework for central government departments
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has issued a contract notice for a £430m legal services framework for use by UK Central Government Departments and other public sector bodies.
The CCS said it was intended that the agreement would be the recommended vehicle for all legal services in respect of a number of general specialisms, finance specialisms and complex projects, required by UK Central Government Departments.
The framework agreement will have two lots:
- General Legal Services (estimated value: £330m): a framework contract will be awarded to 12 bidders for this lot. *
- Financial and Complex Legal Services (estimated value: £100m): a framework contract will be awarded to 6 bidders for this lot. *
The procurement is being conducted under the Light Touch Regime.
The agreement will be established for 36 months, with the option to extend for a further 12 months at the discretion of the CCS.
The award criteria for lot 1 are quality (weighting: 70) and price (weighting: 30). For lot 2 they are quality (weighting: 80) and price (weighting: 20).
The CCS has also announced this month that it will hold market engagement in June and July on a £200m legal services framework agreement for the wider public sector.
In March 2017 the CCS named 18 law firms to a £320m, two-tier panel for the supply of general legal advice to crown bodies and other permitted users.
* The CCS said the maximum number of bidders may increase where two or more bidders have tied scores in last position. The CCS has also reserved the right to award to any bidder whose final score is within 1% of the last position of this lot.