A further opportunity to tender for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract is now open.
Current Providers do not need to submit a response to this procurement process unless they wish to apply for new offices or categories of law
Tenders can be submitted under this procurement process only in the following circumstances:
- an applicant's tender for a 2024 civil contract was rejected because it failed to verify its Tender by the relevant deadline; or
- an existing contractor wishes to apply for additional Categories of Law and/or from additional offices/Procurement Areas; or
- a new organisation that has not submitted a bid before.
The LAA is using a new application process which will remain open for the term of the contact. It will provide an opportunity for new providers to enter the market and for providers who currently hold a 2024 Standard Civil Contract to apply for additional categories of law and/or offices.
Those that tendered previously for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract but were unsuccessful may be "passported" where rejection related solely to a failure to provide compliant tender verification information by the relevant deadline.
Applicants will be able to tender in all civil categories of law.
Next steps
This procurement exercise opened on 4 December 2024.
Why is this happening?
The Legal Aid Agency is committed to providing opportunities to maximise the number of providers able to deliver civil legal aid services to the public.
The procurement will remain open during the term of the 2024 Contract. This means that new entrants can apply for a contract at any time and existing Providers can apply to expand their services. It provides a more flexible approach removing hard deadlines.
The LAA intends to award contracts under this process to commence as soon as possible after the verification process is complete. Depending on the circumstances, it could be several months from the date of application and relies on the submission of timely, complete and accurate information by the organisations. Inaccurate or incomplete evidence may delay the issuing of a contract.
Passporting
Organisations that previously tendered for a 2024 Standard Civil Contract but were unsuccessful will be given the opportunity to "passport" their Tender where rejection related solely to a failure to provide compliant tender verification information by the relevant deadline. This will only be applied when all the following conditions are met:
- an Applicant's contract award was withdrawn because it failed to verify its Tender; and
- the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) Response remains the same as the original submission(s) for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract (which opened on 13 September 2023 or 18 March 2024); and
- there are no changes to the original Tender.
