Planning

Legal Support Grant Funding

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

30 May 2025 at 13:29

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Justice is initiating the planning stage for a "Legal Support Grant Funding" programme, categorised under legal services, with a procurement value of £18 million. The primary objective is to appoint a grant intermediary to manage the administration and delivery of grants designed to ensure free legal support access. This procurement is set within the United Kingdom, with the main activities expected to begin from April 2026. A virtual market engagement session is scheduled for 25th June 2025, offering potential intermediaries insights into the programme's requirements and drafting feedback. Interested parties should note the deadline for joining this engagement by 18th June 2025. The selection process is expected to progress with grants being managed from November 2025 through to March 2029.

This tender presents a significant business growth opportunity for charities or institutions with a charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic focus, particularly those with expertise in grant administration within the legal support sector. Eligible organisations will have the opportunity to oversee roughly 50 frontline organisations and potentially manage up to 200 applications across England and Wales, fostering collaboration, data collection, and reporting. Specialist grant administrators with the capacity to manage a secondary competition and collaborate effectively with data analysts and evaluators will find themselves well-suited for this role. SMEs and VCSEs are particularly encouraged, adding to the inclusivity and broad competition base for potential applicants.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Legal Support Grant Funding

Notice Description

Please Note - This notice is to alert suppliers of a market engagement for the award of a grant agreement and not a contract therefore the Procurement Act 2023 does not apply. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to ensuring early access to free legal support through its Legal Support Grants. Since 2015, over PS30 million has been invested to help individuals facing legal or rights-based issues. A new grant programme is expected to launch from April 2026, with funding of around PS6 million annually through to March 2029, subject to the Spending Review. As part of this programme, the MoJ is seeking to appoint a grant intermediary to manage the administration and delivery of the grant. The intermediary will be responsible for: * Running a competitive grant process (anticipated to be Nov 2025 - Feb 2026) * Overseeing approximately 50 frontline organisations * Managing grant performance and day-to-day delivery * Collecting and reporting data * Coordinating with the MoJ and an external evaluator * Facilitating collaboration and data-sharing across funded organisations The successful intermediary will enter into a Primary Grant Agreement with MoJ by early November 2025. The MoJ may direct funding into specific categories aligned with user needs and delivery models. Eligibility for grant intermediary/administrator role: Applicants must be: * A charity or institution (other than a charity) which is established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes. It is strongly desirable that prospective intermediaries also: * Are a specialist grant administrator. * Have experience of administering grants in the legal support sector. * Have sufficient resource to run a secondary competition across England and Wales with up to 200 applications within 3-4 months. * Have experience of working closely with data analysts and an independent evaluator, or the capability to do so, to provide data and reports as required

Planning Information

For more information and to feedback at this stage please join our early virtual market engagement session at 3-4PM on Wednesday 25 June. During the session the likely requirements for the grant intermediary will be outlined, and potential intermediaries will have an opportunity to share feedback to help shape this offer, followed by a designated period to raise further questions, and which will help determine how we take this forward. For further details and to be added to a mailing list, please contact MoJProcurementProfessionalServices@Justice.gov.uk with subject prj_14648 - Legal Support Grant Funding by Wednesday 18 June.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0529db
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028833-2025
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

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£18,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 May 20258 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
18 Jun 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2025 - 31 Mar 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
Contact Name
MoJ Procurement Professional Services Category
Contact Email
mojprocurementprofessionalservices@justice.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1H 9AJ
Post Town
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
Not specified
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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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. 

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