Procurement of Criminal Defence Direct Services from 4 May 2026
Estimated value
—
Awarded value
£2.4m
Suppliers
2
Lots
2
Published
06 Jan 2026
Description
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has launched the procurement process for the 2026 Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Contracts. These contracts will provide 24/7 telephone-based legal advice to individuals detained at police stations across England and Wales for non-indictable offences. Two contracts will be awarded, with services commencing on 4 May 2026, following an implementation period and a 28-day dual operation phase.
Scope
- Reference
- CDD 2026
- Commercial tool
- Standalone contract
- Contract dates
- 01 Feb 2026 to 31 May 2031
- CPV classifications
- 79100000
- Contract locations
- UK, United Kingdom
Award criteria
Criteria the buyer will use to evaluate bids.
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | The Quality sub criteria are: 1.1 - Skills and experience of staff delivering specialist legal advice 1.2 - Staff Recruitment and Succession Planning 1.3 - Supervision of staff delivering specialist legal advice 2.1 - Management of the CDD Service 2.2 - Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan (BCDR) 2.3 - Contract resourcing and forecasting 3.1 - Implementation Plan 4.1 - Social Value Question | quality | 40.00% |
| Price | Case Fee | price | 60.00% |
Submission & procedure
- Procedure
- Open procedure
Award details
Awarded supplier(s), contract period and value as published in the award notice.
Awarded value
£2.4m
Award date
06 Jan 2026
Contract start
03 May 2026
Contract end
31 May 2031
Lots · 2 total
Divisions of the contract. Each lot can be awarded separately.
| Lot | Title | Est. value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement - Contract 2 | Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 2 | £1.2m | complete |
| Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 1 | Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 1 | £1.2m | complete |