Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 25 Sept 2026, 15:03 BST

Official UK procurement notice

External Board Effectiveness Review

Authority: Legal Services Board (Central government)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Published estimate£35,000£42,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 16 Oct 202613:00 BST · 20d 20h left
Clarification cut-off 9 Oct 202613:00 BST · questions to the authority
Contract term 4 mostarts 1 Nov 2026
Bids per lot · the market 4.5division 79 · n=332 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Legal Services Board (LSB) is looking to appoint a suitably qualified third party to undertake an external evaluation of the LSB Board. The last external evaluation was undertaken in 2022. In the intervening years internal evaluations have been undertaken.

The Legal Services Board is the independent oversight regulator for legal services in England and Wales, established under the Legal Services Act 2007. Our role is to oversee the organisations that regulate lawyers and hold them to account for ensuring regulation works in the public interest and protects consumers. We also regulate the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and have oversight of the Office for Legal Complaints, which is responsible for administering the Legal Ombudsman scheme.

The LSB is an Executive Non-Department Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The Legal Services Board is accountable to Parliament through the Lord Chancellor and is sponsored by the MoJ.

The prospective professional services provider will be expected to deliver the following outputs as part of the Board Effectiveness Review:

a. Project Plan which outlines key milestones, methods and timelines.

b. Survey and Analysis: It is expected that, as a minimum, this will include a desk-based review of evidence (board papers, governance policies, minutes etc), a review of external best practice with specific reference to other regulators and ALBs, and interviews (can be undertaken virtually) of all Board Members, members of the executive, key internal and external stakeholders.

Read the full description (2,784 more characters)

c. Board Observation: The provider will observe at least one Board meeting and the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee in November to assess boardroom behaviours, interactions and decision-making in practice. Observation is likely to take place at LSB's autumn Board meeting 24 November (in person).

d. Interim Findings: A draft report in January 2027 summarising initial observations, emerging themes and a presentation to the LSB Board should be scheduled to allow sufficient time for feedback prior to finalisation.

e. Final Board Effectiveness Report and Presentation in February 2027 setting out findings, analysis and evidence-based recommendations aligned to the review objectives should be presented to the Board.

f. A facilitated session in the form of a Board workshop to reflect on findings and support collective ownership and understanding of the recommendations.

g. A summary of the outcomes of the review is expected to be reported in the LSB's Annual Report and Accounts, and the Review will be made available to the sponsor department.

A tender is required which should include method statements, but not be limited to:

• A description of how you would work with us, the key people that will work the LSB and their background, experiences and skills.

• A description of how you will meet the service specification requirements listed in paragraph 18 onwards above, with demonstrable experience of conducting Board Effectiveness Reviews with regulators.

• A fully costed proposal with fixed and variable costs.

• A completed supplier questionnaire form (annex A).

• A completed EDI form (annex B).

Bids are expected to be between £30,000 - £35,000 with a budget ceiling for this work of £35,000 excluding VAT. Bids above this may be disregarded with no further evaluation. Bids should clearly indicate if they include VAT or not.

A breakdown of costs should be provided including where appropriate the different costs of different staff members.

Failure to provide any of the above details may lead to bids being disregarded with no further evaluation. Electronic completion and signing of the forms is acceptable.

Full details of the background, scope, scoring criteria and how to apply may be found in the invitation to tender attached to this notice.

All tender submissions should be submitted by 13:00 on 16 October 2026 to [email protected] . Submissions submitted to other addresses or beyond this time will not be accepted.

Please contact Heather McLoughlin, Head, Corporate Governance, [email protected], if you have any questions or require any clarification. Enquiries received after the deadline of 9 October 2026 for questions may not be answered.

A summary of the questions received and LSB's response will be published on Contracts Finder.

CPV: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1 4 moSMEPublished value£35,000
Contract period: 1 Nov 2026 — 26 Feb 2027 (4 mo)Eligibility: SME eligibleTurnover guideline: ~£70,000/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£35,000 exc. VAT · £42,000 inc. VAT
79000000 Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published — the tender pack may add more
How bids are scored

Tenders will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Qualitative with a method statement - 45% Commercial based on price - 45% Social Value with a completed EDI Form - 10% A qualitative assessment will be made by reviewing the method statements provided by the tenderer and applying the scoring guide below: 0 Unacceptable Information is omitted/ no details provided 1 Poor - Evaluator is not confident that the tenderer understands the contract requirements and/or will be able to satisfactorily meet the criterion requirements. 2 Fair - The Evaluator has some reservations that the applicant understands the contract requirements and/or will be able to satisfactorily meet the criterion requirements. 3 Satisfactory - The Evaluator is reasonably confident that the applicant understands the contract requirements and/or will be able to satisfactorily complete the contract requirements covered by this criterion to a reasonable standard. 4 Good - The Evaluator is confident that the applicant understands the contract requirements and/or will be able to satisfactorily complete the contract requirements covered by this criterion to a high standard. 5 Excellent - The Evaluator is completely confident that the applicant will provide a comprehensive managed service to a very high standard.

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

Business services: law, marketing, consulting (CPV 79) in Greater London — and who usually turns up

Legal Services Board has too little published record in this market to describe on its own; the Greater London market stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Business services: law, marketing, consulting (CPV 79) →

1

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 contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Legal Services Board

no contract notices in Business services: law, marketing, consulting (CPV 79) in 36 months

Legal Services Board has published no bid reports, no comparable estimate → award pairs and no award dates that this analysis can use — in Business services: law, marketing, consulting (CPV 79) (36 months) or across all categories (24 months).

The market · authority’s region

Greater London · Business services: law, marketing, consulting (CPV 79)

contract notices delivered in Greater London in 36 months: 954 in division 79 (632 competed, 164 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 332 lots. 175 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 4) and 157 from older notices (bids received, middle 5).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

4.5division 79 · 36m · n=332 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 332 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

13%division 79 · 36m · n=332 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 196 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimatedivision 79 · 36m · n=196 pairs
Deadline → award date
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 172 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

53ddivision 79 · 36m · n=172 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 234 lots.

Last 36 months.

70%division 79 · 36m · n=234 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 526 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

74%division 79 · 36m · n=526 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=332
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 332 lots on 299 contested notices · division 79, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 13%
  • 2–3 20%
  • 4–6 39%
  • 7+ 29%

Median 4.5 · 332 lots on 299 contested notices · division 79.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=196
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 196 lot pairs · division 79, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 41%
  • Within ±2% 45%
  • Above estimate 14%

196 lot pairs · division 79.

robust · n=196
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on the Greater London market’s usual movement over 196 lots (division 79), applied to the £35,000 estimate on this notice. The range comes from the region’s middle half.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

Awards in Greater London (division 79, n=196 pairs) land a median at estimate: on this notice’s £35,000 that is about £35,000, middle half £31,500–£35,000 (quartiles from Greater London · division 79). Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • 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). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “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
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
25 Sept 2026, 15:03 BST
Last source update
25 Sept 2026, 15:03 BST
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077ac4 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
16 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST
Clarification deadline
9 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST
Electronic submission
Not allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
All tender submissions should be submitted by 13:00 on 16 October 2026 to [email protected]. Submissions submitted to other addresses or beyond this time will not be accepted.
Published estimate £35,000 excludes VAT (£42,000 including VAT).

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    25 Sept 2026, 15:03 BST
  2. Clarification questions byin 14 days
    9 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST
  3. Submission deadlinein 21 days
    16 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST
  4. Contract startsin 36 days
    1 Nov 2026, 00:00 GMT

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
  1. Tender notice published
    25 Sept 2026, 15:03 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Legal Services Board

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PVPP-2266-LYHQ 2 Redman Place, London, London, E20 1JQ [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender