Civil news: next steps in 2018 civil contracts tender process
Organisations will be advised of the status of their tenders in early January.
We are contacting organisations from 4 January 2018 with updates and guidance on next steps about their bids for 2018 civil contracts work.
This follows the closure of tenders for Civil Legal Advice (CLA) and face to face contracts on 10 November 2017.
We will be advising organisations that:
- bid for a face to face contract but whose application failed to reach the minimum threshold to be given further consideration
- have been successful in bidding for face to face contracts in the Housing & Debt category
- have been shortlisted for a CLA contract
Notifications for the remaining categories will follow in due course.
How will these announcements be made?
We will formally write to each affected organisation using the e-Tendering system, advising them of the status of their tenders, in the week beginning 2 January 2018.
We anticipate that all notifications will have been sent out by Wednesday 10 January 2018.
Applicants bidding for face to face housing and debt contracts who have not been notified by 10 January should contact us through the e-Tendering message board.
What about notifications for other categories?
We will notify applicants who have bid for other face to face categories of law in March 2018.
When will new contracts begin?
Services under new face to face and CLA contracts will begin on 1 September 2018. Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) contracts will follow on 1 October 2018.
How long will the contracts last?
Each contract will initially run until 31 August 2021, with an option for the Legal Aid Agency to extend for up to a further 2 years.
What will happen next?
We will continue to consider tenders in line with the process set out in the Information for Applicants (IFA).
Provider enquiries
Update concerning announcement published on GOV.UK Legal Aid Civil Tender 2018 page: