Award

ID 1032027/L8 Legal Services for Strategic Partner Services & School Management System Solution Project

THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

AwardUpdate

10 Jan 2025 at 16:12

Summary of the contracting process

The Education Authority has awarded a contract for legal services under Lot 8 of the CPD Framework ID 1032027, specifically named "ID 1032027/L8 Legal Services for Strategic Partner Services & School Management System Solution Project". The procurement process, categorized under legal services (CPV code 79100000), targets services in the UKN region (Northern Ireland). The initial contract period has been extended by two years, until 10 January 2027. The contract, valued at GBP 1,387,500, was signed on 11 January 2022. Carson McDowell LLP, based in Belfast, has been awarded this contract to provide ongoing legal support and advisory services for the project.

This tender presents substantial business growth opportunities for legal service providers specialising in education authority projects and complex strategic procurement exercises. Businesses with expertise in legal advisory services and a proven track record of supporting large-scale management systems in educational settings would be well-suited to compete for similar contracts. The extension of the existing contract highlights the need for continuity and the intricate understanding required to support such projects, suggesting that businesses with niche legal capabilities and strategic advisory experience in the education sector will find significant opportunities for collaboration and long-term partnership with public sector clients like the Education Authority.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Notice Title

ID 1032027/L8 Legal Services for Strategic Partner Services & School Management System Solution Project

Notice Description

Lot Information

Lot 1

The provision of legal services for the Strategic Partner Services and School Management System Solution project.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04cf3d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000917-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security


CPV Codes

79100000 - Legal services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£1,387,500 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Jan 20251 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
11 Jan 20224 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Not Specified
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BELFAST
Postcode
BT1 2NQ
Post Town
Northern Ireland
Country
Northern Ireland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLN Northern Ireland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLN0 Northern Ireland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLN06 Belfast
Delivery Location
TLN Northern Ireland

Local Authority
Belfast
Electoral Ward
Duncairn
Westminster Constituency
Belfast North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CARSON MCDOWELL

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04cf3d-2025-01-10T16:12:13Z",
    "date": "2025-01-10T16:12:13Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-04cf3d",
    "description": "This contract was a call-off contract awarded under Lot 8 of the CPD Framework ID 1032027 for Legal Services.",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04cf3d",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "32014L0024",
            "scheme": "CELEX"
        },
        "title": "ID 1032027/L8 Legal Services for Strategic Partner Services & School Management System Solution Project",
        "classification": {
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "id": "79100000",
            "description": "Legal services"
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "description": "The provision of legal services for the Strategic Partner Services and School Management System Solution project.",
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "durationInDays": 1080
                }
            }
        ],
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKN"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ]
    },
    "awards": [
        {
            "id": "000917-2025-ID 1032027/L8-1",
            "relatedLots": [
                "1"
            ],
            "title": "Legal Services for Strategic Partner Services & School Management System Solution Project",
            "status": "active",
            "suppliers": [
                {
                    "id": "GB-FTS-87001",
                    "name": "Carson McDowell LLP"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-FTS-84187",
            "name": "the Education Authority",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "the Education Authority"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "40 Academy Street",
                "locality": "Belfast",
                "region": "UK",
                "postalCode": "BT1 2NQ",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "laura.magee@eani.org.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps",
                "buyerProfile": "https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps"
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-FTS-87001",
            "name": "Carson McDowell LLP",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "Carson McDowell LLP"
            },
            "address": {
                "locality": "Belfast",
                "region": "UKN",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "telephone": "+44 2890242951",
                "email": "law@carson-mcdowell.com"
            },
            "roles": [
                "supplier"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://www.carson-mcdowell.com",
                "scale": "sme"
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-FTS-3185",
            "name": "The UK does not currently have any such bodies with responsibilities for appeal/mediation procedures",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "The UK does not currently have any such bodies with responsibilities for appeal/mediation procedures"
            },
            "address": {
                "locality": "Belfast",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom"
            },
            "roles": [
                "reviewBody"
            ]
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-FTS-84187",
        "name": "the Education Authority"
    },
    "contracts": [
        {
            "id": "000917-2025-ID 1032027/L8-1",
            "awardID": "000917-2025-ID 1032027/L8-1",
            "title": "Legal Services for Strategic Partner Services & School Management System Solution Project",
            "status": "active",
            "value": {
                "amount": 1387500,
                "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "dateSigned": "2022-01-11T00:00:00Z",
            "period": {
                "durationInDays": 1800
            },
            "items": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "classification": {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "79100000",
                        "description": "Legal services"
                    },
                    "deliveryAddresses": [
                        {
                            "region": "UKN"
                        }
                    ],
                    "relatedLot": "1"
                }
            ],
            "amendments": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "description": "This contract was a call-off contract awarded under Lot 8 of the CPD Framework ID 1032027 for Legal Services. The requirement has arisen to modify the contract end date to extend for a further period of 2 years until 10 January 2027 and increase the value to cover this additional contract period. This is the first modification to this contract. The modification is proposed in accordance with Regulation 72 (1)(b) and meets all of the following conditions: (b) for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor that have become necessary and were not included in the initial procurement, where a change of contractor-- (i) cannot be made for economic or technical reasons such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability with existing equipment, services or installations procured under the initial procurement, or (ii) would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority, provided that any increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract;",
                    "rationale": "Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: For technical reasons a change in supplier is not possible at this stage. The provider has been contracted to provide legal advice and support on this specific project over the last 3 years and has built up critical knowledge and understanding which will be required to proceed with this complex strategic procurement exercise required over the next 2 years. To contract with a different supplier at this stage would significantly impact timelines for delivery of the project and duplication of costs for the contracting authority."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "links": [
        {
            "rel": "prev",
            "href": "https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:297736-2017:TEXT:EN:HTML"
        }
    ],
    "language": "en"
}