---
title: "Legal Support Services (Fitness to Practise)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-02fa0a"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02fa0a"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02fa0a.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02fa0a.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "GENERAL OPTICAL COUNCIL"
published: "2022-07-05"
---

# Legal Support Services (Fitness to Practise)

Buyer: GENERAL OPTICAL COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-02fa0a

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## Summary

The General Optical Council is seeking to procure Legal Support Services specifically for Fitness to Practise, with the contract having a total value of £611,000. The procurement process is initiated through a selective procedure and is currently at the active tender stage, which began on 1 April 2022 and will conclude on 31 March 2024, with a potential one-year extension option. The focus is on legal services related to the management of fitness to practise allegations pertinent to registered opticians and optical businesses, with hearings primarily held in London. The deadline for submissions is set for 31 December 2021.

This contract presents significant opportunities for law firms, particularly those with expertise in regulatory and fitness to practise matters within the healthcare sector. Companies that can demonstrate a solid track record in similar legal services and possess the necessary qualifications under the Opticians Act 1989 and the Legal Services Act 2007 will be well-positioned to compete for this contract. Potential suppliers should also be prepared to provide comprehensive support, including investigative assistance and advocacy at hearings, which aligns with the ongoing regulatory needs of the General Optical Council.

## Notice

The requirements of the service are: - conduct of investigative work on the General Optical Council's behalf in relation to fitness to practise allegations relating to registered opticians and optical businesses - preparation for, and presentation of, the GOC's case at substantive Fitness to Practise Committee hearings - occasional preparation for, and presentation of the GOC's case at non-substantive hearings (interim order applications/reviews/extensions, substantive order reviews) and Registration Appeal Committee hearings - provision of advice relating to the conduct of individual investigations into the fitness to practise of GOC registrants, and relating to interpretation of GOC legislation and rules - provision of training to Committee members, Case Examiners and GOC staff.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The full description document (including expression of interest assessment criteria) is available at: https://www.optical.org/en/about_us/working_for_us/goc-tenders-.cfm The value of this contract as stated is its total value - please note that we anticipate appointing up to two suppliers to provide the service (meaning that the value of the contract would be approximately half its stated total value if two providers are appointed). We are the regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Our purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, performance and conduct amongst opticians. We currently register around 30,000 optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses. A brief description of our four core regulatory functions is: - Setting standards for optical education and training, performance and conduct. - Approving qualifications leading to registration. - Maintaining a register of individuals who are qualified and fit to practise, train or carry on business as optometrists and dispensing opticians. -Investigating and acting where registrants' fitness to practise, train or carry on business is impaired. Our website is at: www.optical.org We are seeking to procure legal support services for our Fitness to Practise (FTP) directorate, with effect from 1 April 2022. This year (2021-22) it is forecast that we will open approximately 120 fitness to practice investigations. Currently, approximately 45 per cent of investigation cases are being referred to our Fitness to Practise Committee. We expect to instruct up to half of these referred cases out to the appointed provider(s), either for advocacy only, or for investigation and advocacy (for the sake of clarity, we expect to manage the other half in-house). We also expect to instruct appointed providers to undertake initial-stages investigations in a (total) maximum of 10 cases per annum. We expect these current case numbers to broadly continue through the period of the contract. The provision of legal services will be governed by an agreement commencing 1 April 2022 and concluding 31 March 2024, but with an option for the GOC to extend for 12 months to 31 March 2025. The requirements of the service are: - conduct of investigative work on the GOC's behalf in relation to fitness to practise allegations relating to registered opticians and optical businesses - preparation for, and presentation of, the GOC's case at substantive Fitness to Practise Committee hearings - occasional preparation for, and presentation of the GOC's case at non-substantive hearings (interim order applications/reviews/extensions, substantive order reviews) and Registration Appeal Committee hearings - provision of advice relating to the conduct of individual investigations into the fitness to practise of GOC registrants, and relating to interpretation of GOC legislation and rules - provision of training to Committee members, Case Examiners and GOC staff. Note: Fitness to Practise Committee in-person hearings are held in London. This procurement process is being undertaken as a two-stage restricted tender procedure, pursuant to section 6.2 (ii) of the GOC Contracts and Procurement Policy: https://www.optical.org/download.cfm?docid=4E059864-DC2B-4A6C-A0F5350B72A6AF34 Before applying, please ensure you are familiar with the fitness to practise function of the General Optical Council: https://www.optical.org/en/Investigating_complaints/index.cfm

Renewal: Option for the GOC to extend for 12 months from 1 April 2024.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018288-2022 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Restricted procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Jul 2022 |
| Submission deadline | 31 Dec 2021 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 30 Jun 2022 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2022 - 31 Mar 2024 |
| Recurrence | Future recurrence of this procurement is unlikely to happen before October 2023. |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £611,000 |
| Lots value | £611,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £611,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | GENERAL OPTICAL COUNCIL |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | Central London |
| Postcode | EC4M 7NG |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | City of London |
| Electoral ward | Farringdon Within |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | TLI31 Camden and City of London |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 3 |
| Supplier names | CMS CAMERON MCKENNA; KINGSLEY NAPLEY; WARD HADAWAY SOLICITORS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79100000 - Legal services

## Release History

- 5 Jul 2022 at 12:20 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018288-2022
- 25 Nov 2021 at 12:14 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/029339-2021

## Notice URLs

- http://www.mytenders.co.uk
- http://www.optical.org
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-procurement-review-service-scope-and-remit
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/44/contents
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/29/contents
- https://www.mytenders.co.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA14321
- https://www.optical.org/download.cfm?docid=4E059864-DC2B-4A6C-A0F5350B72A6AF34
- https://www.optical.org/en/Investigating_complaints/index.cfm
- https://www.optical.org/en/about_us/working_for_us/goc-tenders-.cfm

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02fa0a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02fa0a.json.