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Official UK procurement notice
EM Lawshare Framework Agreement for Legal Services
Authority: West Northamptonshire Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionWest Northamptonshire Council (the Authority) is acting as lead authority and running this procurement on behalf of the EM Lawshare (EMLS). This procurement is being conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and is being conducted through the Competitive Flexible procedure to identify the Potential Suppliers for the requirement. This is a Light Touch procurement.
EMLS is a consortium of public bodies (the Consortium) that have been procuring legal services frameworks over the last 20 years. This procurement is for a new framework agreement to replace an existing one that is expiring on 31 March 2026. Contracting authorities will be required to be members of the Consortium in order to use the new framework agreement.
There are just over 240 contracting authorities signed up as members to use the existing framework agreement. 82% of these are local authorities and parish councils located in England and the remaining 18% is made up of wholly owned local authority subsidiary companies, blue light services, park authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, police and crime commissioners, universities and colleges. A full list of current members signed up to use the existing framework can be seen by using this link to the EMLS website: https://emlawshare.co.uk/directory/
Read the full description (3,471 more characters)
The number of contracting authorities signed up to use the current framework has grown significantly from the number using the initial framework set up 20 years ago when seven local authorities in the East Midlands initially started undertaking procurements as a consortium. The range of users has also spread geographically so it now extends country wide and includes some of the largest local authorities in the country such as: Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham and Sheffield City councils and Cornwall, Kent, Somerset, Derbyshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire councils.
The EMLS has now formalised its consortium arrangements in the form of a new Consortium Agreement intended to strengthen the consortium's governance arrangements in anticipation of this tender for a new framework. The agreement is available on the publicly accessible part of the EMLS's website so that any bidder interested in understanding the EMLS's governance and operating arrangements can view it - see [Insert link to webpage].
All contracting authorities (as defined in the Procurement Act 2023) in England & Wales will be eligible to join the Consortium, either before or during the term of the new framework agreement, to have access to use the framework. Contracting authorities that are not local authorities require approval of the Consortium Board to join the Consortium, whereas local authorities do not.
The closed framework agreement will deliver legal services to members of the Consortium. These services will sit under ten areas of work. These include every major category of work dealt with by local authorities other than child care work. The scope of the services is further detailed in the Specification. The framework agreement will not be split into lots as the appointed firms are required to be able to respond to requirements across all of the ten areas of work.
The framework agreement will have 10 private law firms appointed to it.
The framework agreement will have a maximum total value of £1 billion (exclusive of VAT) for the delivery of the requirements as set out in the Specification. The framework agreement will not bind any Consortium member to use the appointed firms nor will any guarantee be given as to the minimum levels of work which will be awarded under the framework.
The Consortium will during the course of the framework agreement charge appointed firms a management fee calculated as a percentage based on a sliding scale of the income they invoice to Consortium members each year (net of VAT and disbursements), as detailed in the Invitation to Tender.
Firms appointed to the framework will be required, jointly & /or solely, to provide certain added value services as part of the contract. These are detailed in the Specification.
Annual indexation to the pricing will apply from the third contract year of the framework agreement. Please refer to Schedule 4, paragraph 1 of the framework agreement for further details.
A conflicts assessment has been prepared and revised in accordance with Section 83.
If your organisation wishes to participate in this process, you need to register with In-Tend Portal. You will be unable to take part if you do not register. Please use the link below and follow the instructions on the website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/wnc/aspx/Home
Tenders must be returned via the Portal.
The tender return date is midday on Monday 19th October 2026. Tenders received after this time and date will not be accepted.
How the procedure runs: West Northamptonshire Council (the Authority) is acting as lead authority and running this procurement on behalf of the EM Lawshare (EMLS). This procurement is being conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and is being conducted through the Competitive Flexible procedure to identify the Potential Suppliers for the more…
requirement. This is a Light Touch procurement. EMLS is a consortium of public bodies (the Consortium) that have been procuring legal services frameworks over the last 20 years. This procurement is for a new framework agreement to replace an existing one that is expired on 31 March 2026. Contracting authorities will be required to be members of the Consortium in order to use the new framework agreement. There are were just over 240 contracting authorities signed up as members to use the existing latest framework agreement. 82% of these are local authorities and parish councils located in England and the remaining 18% is made up of wholly owned local authority subsidiary companies, blue light services, park authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, police and crime commissioners, universities and colleges. A full list of current members signed up to use that e existing framework can be seen by using this link to the EMLS website[SB1.1]: https://emlawshare.co.uk/directory/ The number of contracting authorities signed up to use the current latest framework has grown significantly from the number using the initial framework set up 20 years ago when seven local authorities in the East Midlands initially started undertaking procurements as a consortium. The range of users has also spread geographically so it now extends country wide and includes some of the largest local authorities in the country such as: Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham and Sheffield City councils and Cornwall, Kent, Somerset, Derbyshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire councils. All contracting authorities (as defined in the Procurement Act 2023) in England & Wales will be eligible to join the Consortium, either before or during the term of the new framework agreement, to have access to use the framework. Contracting authorities that are not local authorities require approval of the Consortium's Board to join the Consortium, whereas local authorities do not. [SD2.1][SD2.2] The closed framework agreement will deliver legal services to members of the Consortium. These services will sit under ten areas of work. These include every major category of work dealt with by local authorities other than child care work. The scope of the services is further detailed in the Specification. The framework agreement will not be split into lots as the appointed firms are required to be able to respond to requirements across all of the ten areas of work. The framework agreement will have 10 private law firms appointed to it. The framework agreement will have a maximum total value of £1 billion (exclusive of VAT) for the delivery of the requirements as set out in the Specification. The framework agreement will not bind any Consortium member to use the appointed firms nor will any guarantee be given as to the minimum levels of work which will be awarded under the framework. The Consortium will during the course of the framework agreement charge appointed firms a management fee calculated as a percentage based on a sliding scale of the income they invoice to Consortium members each year (net of VAT and disbursements), as detailed in the Invitation to Tender. Firms appointed to the framework will be required, jointly & /or solely, to provide certain added value services as part of the contract. These are detailed in the Specification. Annual indexation to the pricing will apply from the third contract year of the framework agreement. Please refer to Schedule 4, paragraph 1 of the framework agreement for further details. A conflicts assessment has been prepared and revised in accordance with Section 83. If your organisation wishes to participate in this process, you need to register with In-Tend Portal. You will be unable to take part if you do not register. Please use the link below and follow the instructions on the website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/wnc/aspx/Home Tenders must be returned via the Portal. The tender return date is midday on Monday 19th October 2026. Tenders received after this time and date will not be accepted.
CPV: Legal services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Open framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Framework period
- 4 yrs · up to 6 yrs from 1 Apr 2027
Who may buy through it
All the information can be obtained from the Tender Documents
Published description of the framework
All the information can be obtained from the Tender Documents
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Lot 1RenewalPublished value£1,000,000,000
- Value
- £1,000,000,000 exc. VAT · £1,200,000,000 inc. VAT
- Extensions
- An option to extend for a further two individual periods of 1 year.
What it takes to win
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published — the tender pack may add morePublished sub-criteria (2)
- qulaity — 100
- qulaity — 100
Published award criteria (2)
- qulaity — Quality 50% Price 50%
- qulaity — Quality 50% Price 50%
- Economic & financial standingAll the information can be obtained from the Tender Documents
- Technical & professional abilityAll the information can be obtained from the Tender Documents
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Issue PSQ 18/09/2026 PSQ Clarification Period 05/10/2026 PSQ completion Bidders are required to complete the PSQ before the closing date (stated within the portal) This period will conclude on: 19/10/2026 @ 12:00 PSQ response evaluation stage more…
12/11/2026 TENDER STAGE Tender Period Shortlisted bidders will be invited to submit tenders commencing: 13/11/2026 Tender Clarification Period Period during which bidders may raise clarifications on the Tender Stage of this ITT ends on: 27/11/2026 Tender Response Date Date by which bidders must compile their bids in the required format and submit them: 04/12/2026@12:00 EVALUATION STAGE Evaluation stage Individual evaluation of quality questions Individual evaluation of quick questions Moderations 06th Dec 2026 - 05th February 2027 SIGN OFF/APPROVAL Tender Award Report Approval Notification of Tender evaluation outcome - Contract Award Notice After selection of any successful bidder(s), the Authority will notify all bidders of the outcome of the evaluation via UK 6 - Contract Award Notice. An 8 working day standstill period will commence from this date. 22/02/2026 Confirmation of outcome of Tender after standstill - Contract Details Notice 04/03/2026 - Economic & financial standingAll the information can be obtained from the Tender Documents
- Technical & professional abilityAll the information can be obtained from the Tender Documents
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Issue PSQ 18/09/2026 PSQ Clarification Period 05/10/2026 PSQ completion Bidders are required to complete the PSQ before the closing date (stated within the portal) This period will conclude on: 19/10/2026 @ 12:00 PSQ response evaluation stage more…
12/11/2026 TENDER STAGE Tender Period Shortlisted bidders will be invited to submit tenders commencing: 13/11/2026 Tender Clarification Period Period during which bidders may raise clarifications on the Tender Stage of this ITT ends on: 27/11/2026 Tender Response Date Date by which bidders must compile their bids in the required format and submit them: 04/12/2026@12:00 EVALUATION STAGE Evaluation stage Individual evaluation of quality questions Individual evaluation of quick questions Moderations 06th Dec 2026 - 05th February 2027 SIGN OFF/APPROVAL Tender Award Report Approval Notification of Tender evaluation outcome - Contract Award Notice After selection of any successful bidder(s), the Authority will notify all bidders of the outcome of the evaluation via UK 6 - Contract Award Notice. An 8 working day standstill period will commence from this date. 22/02/2026 Confirmation of outcome of Tender after standstill - Contract Details Notice 04/03/2026
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How West Northamptonshire Council buys Legal services (CPV 7910) — and who usually turns up
West Northamptonshire Council’s own published record, next to the East Midlands market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: sector page →
How the contest usually goes
Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested frameworks and DPS only — direct awards report one bid by definition and are left out. Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.
West Northamptonshire Council
framework/DPS notices in 36 months: 3 in division 79 · 31 in all categories
East Midlands · Legal services (CPV 7910)
framework/DPS notices delivered in East Midlands in 36 months: 28 in CPV 7910 (26 contested) · 191 in division 79 (181 contested)
robust · n=16 Awards in West Northamptonshire Council (all categories, n=16 pairs) land a median at estimate: on this notice’s £1,000,000,000 that is about £1,000,000,000. Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Method and what to read with care
- Two columns, no blending. The authority column walks its own record only: notices in the 4-digit class, then the 2-digit division, then all categories (36 months, per lot, contested only), and as a last resort its 24-month row across all categories (per notice, every route). The market column is the notice’s primary delivery ITL1 × the same class, then division (36 months). Nothing is filled from the UK-wide class; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable.
- Per lot, contested only. Find a Tender publishes bid counts per lot; a seven-lot tender is seven contests. Procedures awarded without competition (limited / direct) are excluded from bids, price pairs and decision days — they report one bid by definition. Frameworks and DPS are a separate population from contracts (6–7 bids per lot against 2–4) and only the notice’s own kind is shown.
- Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). Award-vs-estimate pairs need a lot estimate, one active award on the lot, one canonical supplier and a gap under 60 %; about 30 % of pairs are exact matches (the buyer published the award at the estimate). n is on every figure; below 3 the tile is muted, never hidden.
- Pounds. The expected award applies the authority’s median movement (or the region’s, when the authority has fewer than 3 pairs) to this notice’s estimate; the middle half uses the region’s quartiles. A multi-lot notice publishes an envelope, so the movement is applied per lot, never to the total. A benchmark, not a recommended price.
- “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open admission
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 18 Sept 2026, 12:30 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Sept 2026, 12:30 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 4 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Authority reference
WNC00000586- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077560Find a Tender
- How it runs
West Northamptonshire Council (the Authority) is acting as lead authority and running this procurement on behalf of the EM Lawshare (EMLS). This procurement is being conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and is being conducted through the Competitive Flexible procedure to identify the Potential Suppliers for the requirement. This is a Light Touch procurement. EMLS is a consortium of public bodies more…
(the Consortium) that have been procuring legal services frameworks over the last 20 years. This procurement is for a new framework agreement to replace an existing one that is expired on 31 March 2026. Contracting authorities will be required to be members of the Consortium in order to use the new framework agreement. There are were just over 240 contracting authorities signed up as members to use the existing latest framework agreement. 82% of these are local authorities and parish councils located in England and the remaining 18% is made up of wholly owned local authority subsidiary companies, blue light services, park authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, police and crime commissioners, universities and colleges. A full list of current members signed up to use that e existing framework can be seen by using this link to the EMLS website[SB1.1]: https://emlawshare.co.uk/directory/ The number of contracting authorities signed up to use the current latest framework has grown significantly from the number using the initial framework set up 20 years ago when seven local authorities in the East Midlands initially started undertaking procurements as a consortium. The range of users has also spread geographically so it now extends country wide and includes some of the largest local authorities in the country such as: Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham and Sheffield City councils and Cornwall, Kent, Somerset, Derbyshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire councils. All contracting authorities (as defined in the Procurement Act 2023) in England & Wales will be eligible to join the Consortium, either before or during the term of the new framework agreement, to have access to use the framework. Contracting authorities that are not local authorities require approval of the Consortium's Board to join the Consortium, whereas local authorities do not. [SD2.1][SD2.2] The closed framework agreement will deliver legal services to members of the Consortium. These services will sit under ten areas of work. These include every major category of work dealt with by local authorities other than child care work. The scope of the services is further detailed in the Specification. The framework agreement will not be split into lots as the appointed firms are required to be able to respond to requirements across all of the ten areas of work. The framework agreement will have 10 private law firms appointed to it. The framework agreement will have a maximum total value of £1 billion (exclusive of VAT) for the delivery of the requirements as set out in the Specification. The framework agreement will not bind any Consortium member to use the appointed firms nor will any guarantee be given as to the minimum levels of work which will be awarded under the framework. The Consortium will during the course of the framework agreement charge appointed firms a management fee calculated as a percentage based on a sliding scale of the income they invoice to Consortium members each year (net of VAT and disbursements), as detailed in the Invitation to Tender. Firms appointed to the framework will be required, jointly & /or solely, to provide certain added value services as part of the contract. These are detailed in the Specification. Annual indexation to the pricing will apply from the third contract year of the framework agreement. Please refer to Schedule 4, paragraph 1 of the framework agreement for further details. A conflicts assessment has been prepared and revised in accordance with Section 83. If your organisation wishes to participate in this process, you need to register with In-Tend Portal. You will be unable to take part if you do not register. Please use the link below and follow the instructions on the website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/wnc/aspx/Home Tenders must be returned via the Portal. The tender return date is midday on Monday 19th October 2026. Tenders received after this time and date will not be accepted.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Apply via portal- Expression of interest (EOI)
- 19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Appointment period ends
- 19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 5 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Participation fee
- success fee · All the information can be obtained from the Tender Documents
Timeline
6 published dates · Europe/London- Tender notice publishedearlier today18 Sept 2026, 12:30 BST
- Clarification questions byin 17 days5 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Expressions of interest byin 31 days19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsin 31 days · period end, not a bid countdown19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected byin 167 days4 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 194 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published18 Sept 2026, 12:30 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Conflict of interest declarationNot published
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender