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What you need to know to clear the final hurdle for a successful bid.
Whether you bid in the first round of tenders for legal aid contracts that start on 1 September 2024 (bidding closed on 17 October 2023), or the second round (open from 18 March to 22 April 2024),
1‘Civil news: further tender for the 2024 Standard Civil Contract’, Legal Aid Agency news story, 21 February 2024. the final hurdle is to provide acceptable verification evidence.
Verification dates for the September 2023 tenders are:
•all individual bids: 15 March 2024;
•Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service bids: 3 June 2024; and
•immigration removal centre bids: 3 June 2024.
22024 Standard Civil Contract Procurement Process: Selection Questionnaire Invitation to Tender (‘SQ ITT’) page 2. Verification dates for the April 2024 tenders are:
•all bids: 8 July 2024; and
•HLPAS additional tender bids: 22 July 2024.
SQM or Lexcel
If you currently hold a quality standard, it is advisable to consider when your next assessment will be and bring it forward if necessary to ensure that your accreditation is confirmed before the contract start date. If you are a new organisation, make sure the assessment on the basis of your documentation can be completed in time. This does not apply to family mediation, where no additional quality standard applies.
3See Standard Civil Contract 2024: Family Mediation Category-Specific Information.Authorisation from a professional body
Unless you solely provide mediation, you must have appropriate authorisation to conduct ‘reserved legal activities’ under the Legal Services Act (LSA) 2007. The LAA will check your registration number with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board or CILEx Regulation.
Category- and lot-specific requirements
Supervisor requirements
These are to be found in the relevant category-specific rules of the
2024 Standard Civl Contract Specification. It is important to check that your supervisors meet the LAA’s competence standard for their area of law. The easiest way to do this is to ask them to complete a supervisor self-declaration form so that any issues can be addressed as soon as possible. Specifications, forms and guidance on how to complete the form can be found
here.
Authorised litigators
An authorised litigator is someone who can conduct litigation under the LSA 2007, eg, solicitors, and barristers/CILEX chartered legal executives who have specific authorisation to do so. A part-time equivalent (PTE) applies in housing and to all bids for community care, claims against public authorities, public law, and immigration/asylum.
6This appears in the verification requirements for public law and immigration/asylum contracts, but not in the category-specific rules, which seems like an oversight.Office requirements
In most categories of law, offices must meet ‘permanent presence’ or ‘part time presence’ requirements. In mental health you can use ‘alternative arrangements’ for some offices.
82024 Standard Civil Contract Specification Category Specific Rules: Mental Health para 9.5.Indemnities
You will need to provide a completed indemnity where your organisation has limited liability (unless you are a charity
92024 Standard Civil Contract Standard Terms para 4.5.). This is designed to give the LAA the same enforcement rights against owners of the business as if they were sole principals or partners. The forms can be downloaded
here.
If you are a limited company and have a lot of directors, allow plenty of time for this, especially as those who are not involved in legal aid may not appreciate its importance.
Apply for a legal aid account number