Procurement of Legal Investigation and Advocacy Service in Fitness to Practise
Estimated value
£34.1m
Awarded value
—
Suppliers
0
Lots
1
Published
27 Feb 2026
Description
The Authority is looking for two 2 Suppliers to deliver the following as part of the Service: a. conduct further investigation and prepare cases for Fitness to Practise hearings or meetings; b. undertake pre-hearing case management procedures in accordance with agreed performance targets and in collaboration with other parties to the hearing; and c. ensure the presentation of cases before adjudicators at hearings (those hearings are predominantly carried out remotely using video conferencing software but can, on occasion, be in-person at our offices in Sheffield). Over a period of 3 - 5 years, the Authority aims to work with the Suppliers to eliminate the current backlog of circa 400 cases awaiting a final hearing. By the end of this period, the intention is to have worked successfully in partnership with the Suppliers to both eliminate the backlog and to be managing a 'steady state' of circa 150 cases being processed per annum.
Scope
- Reference
- SWE10547
- Total value
- £34,083,333.33 excluding VAT£40,900,000 including VATAbove the relevant threshold
- Commercial tool
- Standalone contract
- Contract dates
- 21 Jul 2026 to 21 Jul 2029Possible extension to 21 Jul 2031
Up to two extensions are available for 12 months each. The maximum extension period is for 24 months if both extensions are taken.
- Main category
- services
- CPV classifications
- 79100000
- Contract locations
- North East England, United KingdomNorth West England, United KingdomYorkshire and the Humber, United KingdomEast Midlands, United KingdomWest Midlands, United KingdomEast of England, United KingdomLondon, United KingdomSouth East England, United KingdomSouth West England, United Kingdom
- Particular suitability
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Award criteria
Criteria the buyer will use to evaluate bids.
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | — | quality | 70.00% |
| Price | — | price | 25.00% |
| Interview | — | quality | 5.00% |
Participation
Conditions suppliers must meet to bid.
Legal Capacity: The Authority requires Bidders to: • comply with all statutory and regulatory obligations relevant to the provision of legal services in the UK; • be registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority; • not have any undischarged decisions by the SRA against the organisation or any key personnel. Financial Capacity: The Authority requires Bidders to: • have a minimum annual turnover of £8 million in each of the last two completed financial years • have positive net assets in the most recent completed financial year • not be, or have been in the past 6 years, subject to insolvency proceedings • confirm and that there has been no material adverse change in its financial position since the date of the last published accounts
Detail the systems that you have in place, or that you will have in place by the award of the contract, to ensure compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and to ensure the protection of the rights of data subjects. Please provide details of the technical facilities and measures (including systems and processes and cyber security certifications) you have in place or will have in place by contract award.
Submission & procedure
- Enquiry deadline
- 26 Mar 2026, 12:30 pm
- Submission deadline
- 09 Apr 2026, 11:30 am
- Submission address
- Please submit your responses on the following: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/socialworkengland/aspx/Home
- Electronic submission
- Yes
- Procedure
- Competitive flexible procedure