Guidance

Civil tender activity 2023

Information for organisations interested in delivering face to face civil advice

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Civil Legal Aid Services in England and Wales from 1 September 2023: Notice of outcome

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Housing and Debt Services and HPCDS Services in England and Wales from Spring 2023: Amendment Notice

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Details

Latest Updates

We have today published the outcome for the recent procurement process for Civil Legal Aid Services in England and Wales from 1 September 2023. A list of successful providers can be found in the ‘documents’ section at the top of this page.

Previous Updates

2 August 2023 - Housing and Debt Services from October 2023 procurement process opens

We are inviting tenders to deliver housing and debt contract work from 1 October 2023 until 31 August 2024 in the Walsall procurement area.

The opportunity to deliver housing and debt services is open to any organisation that can meet the minimum tender requirements. An organisation does not need to be a current legal aid provider to tender for this opportunity.

We would like organisations to deliver work from 1 October 2023 where possible. But organisations unable to start on 1 October 2023 will be able to tender to start delivering work from a later date.

There is no limit to the number of contracts that can be awarded to deliver housing and debt services in the procurement area.

Applicants can bid to deliver housing and debt services in the procurement area through an office that is either a:

  • permanent presence in the procurement area, or
  • part-time presence in the procurement area

How to apply

Tenders must be submitted using the LAA’s eTendering system

Tender deadline

The tender opens on 2 August 2023 and closes at 5pm on 4 September 2023.

We have published the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document relating to the Procurement Process for Civil Legal Aid Face to Face Contracts from 1 September 2023

The FAQ can be found in the ‘documents’ section at the top of this page.

The deadline for submitting a tender through this procurement process is 5pm on Friday 31 March 2023.

We have today issued an amendment notice to the Civil Legal Aid Services in England and Wales from 1 September 2023 Invitation to Tender (“ITT”) IFA

This notice and amended version of the IFA can be found in the ‘documents’ section at the top of this page.

Applicants are required to refer to the Invitation to Tender (“ITT”) IFA Version 2 when preparing their Tender.

7 March 2023 – Procurement process opens for 2018 Civil Contracts from 1 September 2023

A tender for additional work under the 2018 Standard Civil Contract starting on 1 September 2023 has opened today for the following categories of law:

  1. family
  2. housing, debt and welfare benefits
  3. immigration and asylum, including work at immigration removal centres (IRCs)
  4. mental health
  5. community care
  6. claims against public authorities
  7. clinical negligence
  8. public law
  9. family mediation
  10. education
  11. discrimination

This tender is open to:

  • new entrants seeking to deliver face to face civil legal aid services
  • existing providers who hold a 2018 contract and are seeking to deliver face to face civil legal aid services in additional categories of law
  • existing providers holding a 2018 contract who are seeking to deliver face to face civil legal aid services from additional offices/procurement areas

Providers currently holding a 2018 Standard Civil Contract who are not seeking additional contract work do not need to complete a tender application. However, providers do need to respond accepting the email extension offer the LAA sent on 2 March. This will allow them to continue delivering services from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024.

Tenders must be submitted using the LAA’s eTendering system and must be submitted by 5pm on 31 March 2023.

Applicant may submit any questions they have via eTendering by 11.59pm on 15 March 2023. Answers will be published in the week beginning 20 March 2023.

Technical tender questions can be emailed to help@bravosolution.co.uk or providers can call 0800 069 8630 from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

15 February 2023 - Housing and Debt Services from April 2023 procurement process opens

We are inviting tenders to deliver housing and debt contract work from 1 April 2023 until 31 August 2024 in the following procurement areas:-

  1. Oldham
  2. Rochdale
  3. Warrington & Halton

The opportunity to deliver housing and debt services is open to any organisation that can meet the minimum tender requirements. An organisation does not need to be a current legal aid provider to tender for this opportunity.

We would like organisations to deliver work from 1 April 2023 where possible. But organisations unable to start on 1 April 2023 will be able to tender to start delivering work from a later date.

There is no limit to the number of contracts that can be awarded to deliver housing and debt services in a procurement area.

Applicants can bid to deliver housing and debt services in a procurement area through an office that is either a:

  • permanent presence in the procurement area, or
  • part-time presence in the procurement area

How to apply

Tenders must be submitted using the LAA’s eTendering system

Tender deadline

The tender opens on 15 February 2023 and closes at 5pm on 13 March 2023.

2 February 2023 - Publication of a notice to amend the Housing and Debt and HPCDS Information for Applicants (‘IFA’) for services in England and Wales from Spring 2023.

We have today issued an amendment notice to the Housing and Debt and HPCDS IFA for services in England and Wales from Spring 2023.

This notice and amended version of the IFA can be found in the ‘documents’ section at the top of this page.

Applicants are required to refer to IFA Version 2 when preparing their Tender.

1 February 2023 - Housing and Debt Services and HPCDS Services from Spring 2023 procurement processes open

We are inviting tenders to deliver housing and debt contract work from 4 April 2023 until 31 August 2024 in the following procurement areas:-

  1. Kingston upon Thames & Richmond upon Thames
  2. Knowsley

The opportunity to deliver housing and debt services is open to any organisation that can meet the minimum tender requirements. An organisation does not need to be a current legal aid provider to tender for this opportunity.

We would like organisations to deliver work from 4 April 2023 where possible. But organisations unable to start on 4 April 2023 will be able to tender to start delivering work from a later date.

There is no limit to the number of contracts that can be awarded to deliver housing and debt services in a procurement area.

Applicants can bid to deliver housing and debt services in a procurement area through an office that is either a:

  • permanent presence in the procurement area, or
  • part-time presence in the procurement area

We are also inviting tenders to deliver services in the following Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) areas from 30 April 2023 until 31 October 2023:

  1. Southampton
  2. Telford

Services will start on 30 April 2023. However, organisations unable to deliver work from on 30 April can tender to start delivering work from a later date.

Organisations may bid for housing and debt contract work and/or HPCDS contract work through this procurement process. They are not required to bid for both housing and debt and HPCDS.

However, organisations bidding for an HPCDS contract must hold, or successfully bid for as part of this procurement process, a 2018 Standard Civil Contract. This needs to include authorisation in the housing and debt categories of law.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is seeking to award one contract for each of the HPCDS areas listed above.

How to apply

Tenders must be submitted using the LAA’s eTendering system

Tender deadline

The tender opens on 1 February 2023 and closes at 5pm on 2 March 2023.

Published 1 February 2023
Last updated 19 December 2023 + show all updates
  1. Publication of the outcome for the recent procurement process for Civil Legal Aid Services in England and Wales from 1 September 2023

  2. New tender opportunity opens plus new document added

  3. Publication of the Procurement Process for Civil Legal Aid Face to Face Contracts from September 2023. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  4. Publication of a notice to amend the Civil Legal Aid Services in England and Wales from 1 September 2023 Invitation to Tender (“ITT”) IFA

  5. Publication of details for the Procurement process opening today for 2018 Civil Contracts from 1 September

  6. Guidance published on the Housing and Debt Services from April 2023 procurement process which opens today

  7. Publication of an amendment notice

  8. First published.