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Provision of Contact Centre Services to the Legal Aid Agency

Legal Aid Agency

This public procurement record has 11 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

16 Jul 2026 at 16:47

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

15 Jul 2026 at 14:36

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

27 Mar 2026 at 09:54

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

20 Mar 2026 at 15:40

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

20 Mar 2026 at 14:55

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

07 Nov 2025 at 16:26

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

15 Oct 2025 at 13:15

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

14 Oct 2025 at 16:00

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

26 Jun 2025 at 10:35

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

25 Jun 2025 at 15:25

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

23 May 2025 at 17:37

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Legal Aid Agency plans to procure contact centre services covering two national services in England and Wales. The Defence Solicitor Call Centre manages the logging, identification and deployment of defence solicitors to provide free legal advice to people detained in police custody. The Civil Legal Advice Operator Service assesses whether callers’ legal issues fall within legal aid and whether they are financially eligible; eligible callers are referred to specialist legal advice, while others are directed to alternative help. The work is a public service contact centre and customer service contract, with a legal services element. Delivery covers the North East, North West, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West and Wales. The Legal Aid Agency is the buying organisation.

This procurement is at the planning stage: the buyer has stated its intention to proceed, but this record is not an invitation to tender. The expected route is a call-off from Lot 1, Citizen Experience, of the Outsourced Services Framework (RM6295), and participation is restricted to suppliers on that lot. The buyer planned market engagement for 15 April 2026, with engagement activity scheduled through 28 April 2026. The next notice is expected on 17 September 2026. One planned lot is suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises. The anticipated contract period is 1 November 2027 to 31 October 2030, with a renewal option allowing extension to 31 October 2031. The estimated value is £24.4 million excluding VAT and £29.28 million including VAT.

The work will suit an established contact centre operator able to run public-facing telephone services at national scale, manage sensitive legal-aid enquiries and apply consistent assessment and referral processes. Relevant capability includes logging and identifying requests, coordinating the deployment of defence solicitors, assessing legal-aid scope and financial eligibility, and directing people to appropriate specialist or alternative assistance. Suppliers should be prepared to support services used by people in police custody and members of the public seeking legal help, with reliable operational processes across England and Wales. The buyer has indicated that the procurement is intended for suppliers already on Lot 1, Citizen Experience, of the Outsourced Services Framework (RM6295). SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises are identified as suitable participants, subject to the framework’s requirements.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Contact Centre Services to the Legal Aid Agency

Notice Description

The Legal Aid Agency ("LAA") is inviting Tenders from Lot 1 (Citizen Experience) of Outsourced Services Framework (RM6295) for contracts to deliver the LAA Contact Centre Services which comprise the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) and the Civil Legal Advice Operator Service (CLAOS). The DSCC service manages the logging, identification and deployment of defence solicitors to provide free legal advice to clients detained in police custody in England and Wales. The CLAOS is a call centre service that assesses whether a client's legal issue is in scope of legal aid and whether they are financially eligible. If they are eligible, it refers the client to specialist advice provided through legal aid or, if not, directs clients to alternative sources of help and assistance.

Planning Information

Market Engagement to be held on 15/04/2026 and will be open only for suppliers on Lot 1 (Citizen Experience) of Outsourced Services Framework (RM6295) only.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0524f0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067433-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79100000 - Legal services

79342300 - Customer services

79512000 - Call centre

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£24,400,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
16 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
17 Sep 20263 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2027 - 31 Oct 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Legal Aid Agency
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1H 9AJ
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England), TLL Wales
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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