Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
The Minister for the Cabinet Office acting through Crown Commercial Service
9th Floor, The Capital, Old Hall Street
Liverpool
L3 9PP
supplier@crowncommercial.gov.uk
Telephone
+44 3450103503
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Public Sector Legal Services
Reference number
RM6240
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 79100000 - Legal services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Crown Commercial Service, as the Authority, intends to put in place an agreement for the provision of Public Sector Legal Services for use primarily by the Wider Public Sector, but available to all approved UK public sector bodies and their associated bodies including, Devolved Administrations — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Wider Public Sector including Health and Education bodies, Local and Regional Government organisations, Emergency Services and Third Sector organisations.
The Scope of services expected to be provided is likely to cover the Legal Practices/Areas listed in Section II.2.4
The lotting structure of this framework will be determined as a result of the market engagement.
Further information is included in the Additional Information section VI.3
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £200,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 79100000 - Legal services
- 79110000 - Legal advisory and representation services
- 79111000 - Legal advisory services
- 79112000 - Legal representation services
- 79130000 - Legal documentation and certification services
- 79140000 - Legal advisory and information services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
This procedure relates to Legal Services within the meaning of Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015). Given that this procedure relates to ‘social and other specific services’ only, it is subject to limited regulation and will be conducted in accordance with regulations 74 to 76 of PCR 2015. Any references to fully regulated processes or procedures are for ease of reference only and should not be taken as recognition nor acceptance that the same apply in this instance.
Entry criteria, for potential providers which is not exhaustive, shall include:
1. Be an legally established law firm / provider of commercial legal services.
2. Be registered and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and / or appropriate regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions, for example the Scottish Law Society.
3. Be in possession of valid and current Public Liability (PL), Employers Liability (EL) and Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) cover.
4. Be able to demonstrate the capacity and capability within the bid entity to fully provide at least one of the ‘Practice Areas’ as set out below.
Expressions of Interest from Consortium / Group (of) Economic Operators (GEOs) and Small / Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are welcome.
The ‘Practice Sectors’ and their subsets ‘Practice Areas’ (referred to in Section II.1.4) which will are likely to form the Scope of the Supply of the Services of the proposed commercial vehicle(s) are likely to include but may not be limited to the following which may change as a result of further market engagement::
Administrative and Public Law:
Inquiries, Local Government Law, Professional Disciplinary Procedures, Public Regulatory Law.
Banking and Finance:
Acquisition Finance, Islamic finance, Project Finance, Restructuring / Insolvency, Loans / Lending.
Charities:
Commercial Contract Law:
Commercial Litigation:
Competition Law:
Construction:
Data Protection and Information Law:
FOIA Law, DPA Law, EU Regulation.
Dispute Resolution:
Education Law:
Institutions — schools, and H&FE.
Employment Law:
Discrimination / Equal opportunities, Policy, TUPE.
Environment:
Regulatory Compliance, Regulatory Enforcement, Climate Change.
EU Law:
Financial Law Services:
Debt Recovery.
Civil Fraud:
Asset Tracing / Freezing.
Health and Safety Law:
Regulatory Procedures, Compliance, Training, HASAW, Waste.
IT Law:
Infrastructure:
PFI / PPP, Infrastructure Finance.
Intellectual Property Law:
Licensing Law:
Litigation and Dispute Resolution:
Personal Injury Claims, Commercial Property.
Media and Entertainment:
Mediation Services:
Outsourcing:
Partnerships:
Corporate JVs, Public Service Concessions, Franchising.
Pensions Law:
Regulations / Regulatory Frameworks, Scheme mergers / de-mergers, Restructuring, Pensions Litigation.
Planning:
CPOs, JRs, Divestment / Sale.
Projects:
Project Finance, Project Partnering, Strategic Outsourcing.
Public Procurement:
EU Regulatory Law, Outsourcing / Insourcing, Contract Drafting Services.
Real Estate:
Landlord and Tenant Matters, Leases, Licenses and Conveyancing, Site Development.
Real Estate Finance:
Real Estate Litigation:
Social Housing:
Tax:
Telecommunications:
Regulatory / Compliance, Spectrum Sales / Auctions, Procurement.
Transport Law:
Road Regulatory, EIAs, Operator Licensing.
Travel Law
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
16 February 2022
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
This prior information notice is to signal an intention to commence market engagement with those within the legal market.
Crown Commercial Service intends to hold market engagement sessions during June and July 2021 with suppliers interested in potentially bidding for the resulting panel contract. If you are interested in attending a market engagement session please express your interest by emailing supplier@crowncommercial.gov.uk no later than midday on Monday 7th of June 2021. Further details will be provided to you.
Your email must clearly state: the name of your organisation, and contact details for the individual(s) who will participating in the market engagement. Please add RM6240 - Public Sector Legal Services to the email subject.
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) will use an eSourcing system for this competition and reserves the right to use an electronic auction. The eSourcing system we will use is https://crowncommercialservice.bravosolution.co.uk.
Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so.
The value in II.1.5 is an indicative value over 6 years (assuming a 4 year term with call-off contracts for a further 2 years).
The date in II.3) is the estimated date of publication, please refer to the CCS website page https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/upcoming Crown for updates and monitor Tenders Electronic Daily for the publication of the OJEU contract notice.
The Cyber Essentials scheme is mandatory for Central Government Contracts which involve handling personal information and providing certain ICT products and services. The Government is taking steps to further reduce the levels of cyber security risk in its supply chain through the Cyber Essentials scheme. The scheme defines a set of controls which, when properly implemented, will provide organisations with basic protection from the most prevalent forms of threat coming from the internet.
To participate in this procurement, bidders will be required to demonstrate that they are Cyber Essentials Plus certified for the services under and in connection with the procurement.
The bidder may be awarded a contract but shall not enter into any call off contracts with buyers until they are able to demonstrate to CCS that they meet the technical requirements prescribed by the Cyber Essentials Plus Scheme for services under and in connection with this procurement.
The service that arise from this framework will involve the supplier holding material that has been assigned a protective marking under the Government Security Classifications Scheme (April 2014) of OFFICIAL/SENSITIVEBidders will be required to implement their solution in accordance with the RM6240 Schedule, ‘Security Requirement and Plan’, to meet RM6240 requirements. This will be released at the ITT stage.
We also intend to require the following ISO standards as part of this procurement, detailed here for information:
— ISO 9001 Quality management systems or equivalent,
— ISO/IEC 27001 Information security management systems or equivalent,
— ISO/IEC 27002:2013 Information technology – security techniques – code of practice for information security controls,
— ISO/IEC 27031 Information technology – security techniques – guidelines for information and communication technology readiness for business continuity or equivalent,
— ISO/IEC 22301:2019 Business continuity management or equivalent, and
— ISO/IEC 22313 Societal security – business continuity management systems – guidance or equivalent.
A Future Opportunity on contract finder can be found here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/9e3a5994-315b-4dcf-946d-a3ddf04ad5c1