Government Awards Legal Service Framework Agreement
Date Issued: 13 June 2007
OGCbuying.solutions, the trading arm of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has announced the award of Legal Services framework agreements worth an estimated £240 million over the four-year lifetime of the contract.
The categories of legal service provision were developed by Buying Solutions and the Treasury Solicitors Department and are designed to offer ready access to a wide range of firms from niche practices to full service commercial firms including those with the ability to handle the most complex and high value infrastructure projects.
Framework agreements have been awarded to firms who could demonstrate competitive rates as well as an ability to provide high quality professional services.
The award covers eight categories listed below:
- IT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND E-COMMERCE (EXCLUDING PURE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ADVICE)
- PROPERTY AND ESTATES
- CONSTRUCTION
- EMPLOYMENT & PENSIONS
- CORPORATE & FINANCE
- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- FULL COMMERCIAL
- MAJOR PROJECTS
This new framework agreement is a development of the previous arrangements under L-CAT and incorporates Full Commercial and Major Projects categories to cover complex and high value projects which require sustained legal support.
Derek Rothwell, Procurement Director Buying Solutions commented:
"L-CAT saved customers over £5 million in 2006/07. Going forward with the new set of Legal Services frameworks, I'm confident that we will secure even greater savings combined with better accessibility. And, although savings are important, the quality of the service is paramount and this framework offers a comprehensive range of legal firms offering a broad range of expertise and support"
The Treasury Solicitor, Paul Jenkins, commenting on the new Framework said:
"The Legal Services framework agreement will be available to the public sector as a whole and will play an essential part in streamlining HMG's procurements and ensuring more effective competition. It can only do that if users are committed to using the framework effectively and seek real value for money.
I anticipate a rapid move away from any pre-existing departmental and ad hoc arrangements to a consistent and widespread use of the new framework as the default approach to selecting and appointing external legal service providers."
Ends
Notes to Editor
OGCbuying.solutions is the trading arm of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which is itself an office of HM Treasury. The Office of Government Commerce is responsible for improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement, from commodity buying to the delivery of major capital projects, maximising the effective use of 60% of Government spending and a £30 billion property estate.
A new Government strategy launched in January 2007, Transforming Government Procurement, highlighted the central importance of procurement in delivering high-quality public services and best value for money. OGC is tasked with delivering this transformation, and with driving up standards and procurement capability across central Government. The OGC will do this through:
- Setting the right procurement standards and ensuring they are met;
- Capitalising on the Government's collective buying power to achieve value for money;
- Developing a cadre of senior procurement professionals across government to drive forward best practice procurement solutions.
OGCbuying.solutions, launched in April 2001, provides public sector procurement professionals with a route to the products and services they need to maximise procurement efficiency and value for money. Its contracts and framework agreements offer substantial savings through significant buying power, economies of scale and strategic partnerships. These savings are counted towards the Efficiency Review target. Rigorous tendering and evaluation processes ensure that products and services are checked for quality, price competitiveness, fitness for purpose and compliance with statutory requirements. These products and services are available through OGCbuying.solutions Catalist framework agreements and Managed Services.
The Catalist brand is designed to unify the framework agreements under one identifiable and recognisable brand name. Catalist incorporates a series of framework agreements which have been developed to offer our customers a broad range of goods and services aligned to their particular needs. Managed Services are predominantly more sophisticated, requiring expertise and additional support from OGCbuying.solutions.