Rail Legal Services

Crown Commercial Service as the Authority is putting in place a panel Agreement for Rail Legal Services ('the Panel') for Crown Bodies, the Principal Panel Customer being the Department for Transport and other permitted users identified at VI.3 (of the OJEU Contract Notice) (and any future successors to these organisations) in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland ('Panel Customers'). Panel Customers will then be able to enter into Legal Service Contracts with successful Suppliers for any required services.

This Panel Agreement will be for an initial Panel Period of three (3) years, with the option to extend for up to one (1) further period of twelve (12) consecutive months.

This procurement relates to the legal services which are listed in Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015(PCR) 2015 as a specific service. This procurement is being conducted under the Light Tough Regime ('LTR') and will be conducted in accordance with regulations 74 to 76 PCR 2015.

The anticipated maximum number of Suppliers to be appointed to the Panel is eight (8), with four (4) Suppliers within Tier 1 and four (4) Suppliers within Tier 2. Potential Providers will be able to elect that if their organisation is awarded a Tier 1 place on the Panel Agreement to decline the Tier 1 place and accept a Tier 2 Panel Agreement, full details are available in the Stage 1 Guidance and Eligibility Questionnaire (Attachment 2) which can be accessed at:

https:// gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

using the instructions detailed in III.2.1 of the OJEU Contract Notice.

The procurement will be conducted in three (3) stages which will be run consecutively. Full details are available in the Invitation to Tender ('the Invitation'). The Invitation can be accessed at:

https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

using the instructions detailed in III.2.1 of the OJEU Contract Notice.

Additional information: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: This Procurement will be managed electronically via the Authority's e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this Procurement, participants must first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite.

If you have not yet registered on the e-Sourcing Suite, please go online to:

https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

you can then access the link 'Register for CCS eSourcing'. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esourcing-tool-guidance-for-Suppliers

Once you have registered on the e-Sourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing

ExpressionOfInterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Your email must clearly state: the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for; the name of the Potential Provider; and the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email.

The Authority will process the email and then enable the Potential Provider to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done.

As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to e-Sourcing Suite email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event. Please note it is your responsibility to access these emails on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information. For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Support Desk email:

eEnablement@crowncommercial.gov.uk

A full copy of the procurement documentation for this Procurement will be available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge via the Crown Commercial Service website from the date of the publication of the contract notice:

http://ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/procurement-pipeline