Legal aid crime tender 2017
Information for organisations interested in applying to deliver Criminal Legal Aid Services from 1 April 2017.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
Latest updates
12 August 2019 - 2017 Crime Contract: Notice of extension
Following the publication of the headlines intention paper, the above notice of contract extension has been sent to all holders of the 2017 Crime Contract, extending the contract to an end date of 31 March 2021.
Previous updates
30 March 2017 - CRM12 Duty solicitor applications – rotas starting 1 July 2017
Providers who completed verification but were not included on April rotas have been sent CRM12 forms to complete and return by 12 noon on Monday 3 April 2017 if they wished the LAA to perform checks and advise in the case of missing information.
Providers currently on April rotas were invited to inform the LAA by 20 March where they wished to make amendments to their existing CRM12 forms by adding or removing duty solicitors.
These providers will be sent a CRM12 form containing the information that they previously submitted and a form to record the changes that they wish to make. These amendment forms will have been sent out by close of play on 31 March.
If a provider has identified after 20 March that they need to make a change to their existing rota allocation, they must advise the LAA by sending an email via the Bravo message board by no later than 3 April. They will then be provided with a form to record the changes they wish to make. The amendment form must be returned by 23.59 on 7 April.
Next steps
The deadline for the submission of CRM12 forms and amendment forms is 23.59 on 7 April.
To help providers in accurate completion of these forms, the LAA will perform checks on all forms submitted by this deadline.
Duplicate duty solicitors
Providers are referred to the update note published on 9 March 2017, for the action that the LAA will take over any duplicate duty solicitors.
20 March 2017 – Publication of a notice to amend the IFA for the procurement of Criminal Legal Aid Services.
We have today issued an amendment notice to the Information For Applicants (IFA).
This notice and an amended version of IFA can be found in the documents section above.
16 March 2017: Contract execution – extension to 5pm 22 March
Contract schedules for organisations that have completed verification have now been uploaded and are ready to accept. Unfortunately, this process has taken longer than anticipated and we apologise for any inconvenience.
Accordingly, we have extended the time for you to accept these contracts and secure your rota slots. You now have until 5pm on Wednesday 22 March to accept.
If you have not received a contract schedule and have not received a communication from us about any further delay with your contract documentation, you should contact us via the Bravo E-tendering system and headline your message ‘contract query’.
While the time has been extended, we would advise that you accept your contract as soon as possible in case you encounter any technical difficulties.
16 March 2017: Contract upload update
We are continuing to upload crime contract schedules for all those organisations which will be included on duty rotas in April 2017. We are aiming to complete this today.
If you have not received a contract schedule by 5pm today (16 March 2017) and consider that you should have, please check Bravo as we may have already communicated with you about this.
If you consider that your contract schedule is still outstanding please notify Bravo e-tendering system heading your message ‘Contract query’.
If you are having trouble accessing your documents in CWA please refer to the guidance available on our website.
Please also ensure that you have set up the requisite number of ‘designated signatories’ on CWA. Guidance on how to allocate a designated signatory in CWA is available on our website.
15 March 2017: Contract upload guidance note
Please note that this document has been updated to make clear that in order to secure duty slots for 1 April, providers are advised to execute their contract as soon as possible and certainly by 20 March 2017.
3 February 2017 - Duty solicitor members list update
We previously advised that members lists for duty rotas would be published this week.
Unfortunately, these are not ready to be published yet. We apologise for the delay and any inconvenience this causes.
We hope to be in a position to publish them next week.
29 December 2016 – Publication of a notice to amend the IFA for the procurement of Criminal Legal Aid Services.
We have today issued an amendment notice to the Information For Applicants (‘IFA’) in the eTendering system.
This notice and an amended version of the IFA can be found in the documents section above.
22 November 2016 - Appeals following the notification of the tender outcome
Where applicants have not been wholly successful in their tender for a Crime Contract, an applicant’s sole right of appeal is outlined at paragraphs 9.24 of the IFA.
If applicants consider that a right of appeal applies and wish to appeal, your appeal must be completed on the appeals pro forma which can be found in the documents section of this page and sent via the ITT_430 Organisation ITT eTendering message board. Your appeal must be received by 23.59 on 5 December 2016. Appeals submitted after this date will not be considered.
8 September 2016 – Publication of a notice about Sheffield Crime Duty Scheme eligibility.
We have today issued a notice about the Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool and eligibility for the Sheffield Crime Duty Scheme in the eTendering system.
This notice can be found in the documents section above.
Applicants are reminded that the deadline for the Tender is 12pm noon on 15th September.
2 September 2016 – Publication of a notice to amend the IFA for the procurement of Criminal Legal Aid Services.
We have today issued an amendment notice to the Information For Applicants (‘IFA’) in the eTendering system.
This notice and an amended version of the IFA can be found in the documents section above.
Applicants are reminded that the deadline for the Tender is 12pm noon on 15 September.
24 August 2016 - Frequently Asked Questions document published
We have today published a Freqently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that applies to the procurement of criminal legal aid services in England and Wales from 1 April 2017. This document gives answers to questions received through the eTendering system message boards.
The FAQ document can be found on this page under ‘Documents’.
The deadline for asking questions about the tender process or the Information for Applicants documents (IFA) was 12pm on 8 August 2016. LAA is unable to respond to any questions received after this date.
If you have technical queries on how to use the eTendering system you should contact the helpdesk on 0800 368 4850 or [email protected].
The deadline for responses to this tender is 12pm on Thursday 15 September 2016.
17 August 2016 – Publication of a notice to amend the IFA, Birmingham DIF, Brighton DIF, Bristol DIF, Cambridge DIF, Liverpool DIF, London DIF, Nottingham DIF, Wales DIF and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool
We have today issued an amendment notice to the Information For Applicants (IFA), Birmingham Duty Information Form (DIF), Brighton DIF, Bristol DIF, Cambridge DIF, Liverpool DIF, London DIF, Nottingham DIF, Wales DIF and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool in the eTendering system.
This notice and an amended version of the IFA and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool can be found in the documents section above. An amended version of the Birmingham DIF, Brighton DIF, Bristol DIF, Cambridge DIF, Liverpool DIF, London DIF, Nottingham DIF and Wales DIF can be found in the ‘buyer attachments’ section of the affected individual bid ITTs.
Applicants that have already submitted an ITT response should note that they will need to respond again to the relevant question in the Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Liverpool, London, Nottingham and Wales individual bid ITTs and resubmit their tender response prior to the deadline of 12pm on 15 September 2016.
5 August 2016 – Publication of a notice to amend the Birmingham DIF, Cambridge DIF in the individual bid ITTs and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool
We have today issued an amendment notice to the Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool, Birmingham Duty Information Form (DIF) and Cambridge DIF in the eTendering system. This notice and an amended version of the Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool can be found in the documents section above. An amended version of the Birmingham DIF and Cambridge DIF can be found in the ‘buyer attachments’ section of the affected individual bid ITTs.
Applicants that have already submitted an ITT response should note that they will need to respond again to the relevant question in the Birmingham and Cambridge Individual Bid ITTs and resubmit their tender response prior to the deadline of 12pm on 15 September 2016.
4 August 2016 – Publication of a notice to amend the IFA, Birmingham DIF, Bristol DIF, Cambridge DIF, Nottingham DIF and Wales DIF in the Individual Bid ITTs and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool
We have today issued an amendment notice to the Information For Applicants (IFA), Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool, Birmingham Duty Information Form (DIF), Bristol DIF, Cambidge DIF, Nottingham DIF and Wales DIF in the eTendering system. This notice and an amended version of the IFA and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool can be found in the documents section above. An amended version of the Birmingham DIF, Bristol DIF and Wales DIF can be found in the ‘buyer attachments’ section of the affected individual bid ITTs.
Applicants that have already submitted an ITT response should note that they will need to respond again to the relevant question in the Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Nottingham and Wales individual bid ITTs and resubmit their tender response prior to the deadline of 12pm on 15 September 2016.
1 August 2016 – Publication of a notice to amend the Information For Applicants (IFA), ITTs and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool
We have today issued an amendment notice to the IFA document, the ITTs, Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool and Duty Information Forms (DIF) in the eTendering system. This notice and an amended version of IFA and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool can be found in the documents section above. Amended versions of the DIFs can be found in the ‘buyer attachments’ section of the Individual Bid ITTs.
Applicants that have already submitted an ITT response should note that they will need to respond again to the relevant questions in the Organisation ITT and the Individual Bid ITT(s) and resubmit their tender response prior to the deadline of 12pm on 15 September 2016.
21 July 2017 – Criminal legal aid procurement process opens
The procurement process for Criminal Legal Aid Services to start on 1 April 2017 has opened. It is open to both existing contract holders and new entrants. The deadline for submitting responses to this procurement process is 12 noon on 15 September 2016.
To carry out publicly funded criminal legal advice and representation from 1 April 2017, organisations will need to successfully tender for a new Crime Contract.
The Information for Applicants (IFA) that governs this procurement process is available in the ‘documents’ section at the top of this page. The IFA provides full details about this procurement process, including the criteria that Applicants must meet.
Contract documentation is available on the 2017 Crime Contract page.
Tender responses must be made online through the eTendering Portal. A helpline has been set up to support you if you have technical problems with the eTendering system: help@bravosolutions; 0800 3684850.
If you have any questions about the procurement process or the IFA document, these must be raised through the eTendering system by 8 August 2016.
Questions of wider interest will be collated and answered through a frequently asked questions document which will be published on this webpage on 22 August 2016.
Updates to this page
Published 21 July 2016Last updated 14 January 2020 + show all updates
-
The Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool has been updated.
-
Publication of the 2017 Crime Contract: Notice of extension
-
Updated postcode tool published.
-
Duty Solicitor postcode tool updated.
-
Duty solicitor postcode tool updated.
-
Duty solicitor postcode tool updated.
-
Tender outcome published.
-
Update published regarding duty solicitor applications.
-
Crime schedule update has been published.
-
Publication of a notice to amend the Information for Applicants for the procurement of criminal legal aid services.
-
Latest update announcing extension of deadline to accept contracts.
-
Contract upload update.
-
15 March 2017: Contract upload guidance note update
-
Contract upload guidance note updated.
-
Amendment notice, CRM12 guidance note published and Information for Applicants document updated.
-
Contract upload guidance note published.
-
CRM12 and verification update published.
-
Publication dates for the members lists and duty rotas update.
-
Duty Solicitor Members list update
-
CRM12 process update published.
-
CRM12 Update published.
-
Amendment notice and updated Information for Applicants published.
-
Verification update 23 December 2016 published.
-
CRM12 Duty solicitor applications: guidance note published.
-
Verification update for 13 December 2016 published.
-
Verification update document published.
-
Verification guidance published.
-
Appeals following the notification of the tender outcome.
-
Publication of a notice about Sheffield Crime Duty Scheme eligibility.
-
Amendment notice added. Version 5 of IFA added.
-
Frequently Asked Questions document published.
-
Publication of a notice to amend the IFA, Birmingham DIF, Brighton DIF, Bristol DIF, Cambridge DIF, Liverpool DIF, London DIF, Nottingham DIF, Wales DIF and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool.
-
Publication of a notice to amend the Birmingham DIF, Cambridge DIF in the individual bid ITTs and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool
-
Publication of a notice to amend the Information for Applicants, Birmingham DIF, Bristol DIF, Cambridge DIF, Nottingham DIF and Wales DIF in the individual bid ITTs and Duty Solicitor Postcode tool.
-
Publication of a notice to amend the Information For Applicants, ITTs and Duty Solicitor Postcode Tool.
-
First published.