Official UK procurement notice
External Legal Services Framework
Authority: Scottish Social Services Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionA multi supplier ranked framework to provide legal advice and representation to the SSSC, primarily in relation to fitness to practise panel investigations and hearings but also in relation to other matters and proceedings associated with our regulatory function. These include a range of subjects such as prospects of success at appeals/judicial review, equality implications, rehabilitation of offenders legislation, and general administrative and regulatory legal topics. The external advisors also provide quality control and assurance checks for fitness to practise. The Legal and Corporate Governance department may also have a requirement for additional support where required due to time pressures or where expert advice is needed that cannot be provided by the internal legal team. This will include advice on information governance and governance/compliance matters as well as our statutory functions under the Regulation of Care (Sc) Act 2001. A minimum of 2 ranked suppliers will reduce the risk of any conflict of interest around individual cases.
- Recurrence: May 2030
CPV: Legal advisory and information services · Legal advisory and representation services · Legal advisory services · Legal documentation and certification services · Legal representation services · Legal services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Places
- up to 3 suppliers · 3 bids received (1.0 per place) · 2 appointed
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Quality as per Invitation to Tender: 80%
- price: 20%
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality as per Invitation to Tender: 80
- Price: 20
- Technical & professional ability
Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “External Legal Services Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 3 suppliers, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · May 2030
- First published
- 12 May 2026, 09:49 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Aug 2026, 13:30 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 16 Jun 2026 – …
- Authority reference
2526/MAR/001/SSSC- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-075739- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069662Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic payment
- Performance terms
Those excluded as defined in the ITT.
Publisher note: Tenderers may submit enquiries, regarding clarifications or an interpretation of any aspect of this ITT using the facilities available on the “Public Contracts Scotland” portal, from where responses will be distributed to all parties who have noted interest. This will ensure that all potential suppliers are treated equally. Tenderers who attempt to circumvent this formal communication process may be eliminated from participation in the tender. (SC Ref:839638)
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 12 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 16 Jun 2026, 08:00 BST
Timeline
12 Jun 2026 → 10 Aug 2026 · 3 dates- Admission / appointment period ends131 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown12 Jun 2026, 17:00 BST
- Bids opened127 days ago16 Jun 2026, 08:00 BST
- Notice published72 days ago10 Aug 2026, 13:30 BST
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Status changed to complete10 Aug 2026, 13:30 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast1 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
Contract 075739-2026-1
- Signed
- 4 Aug 2026
- Value
- £500,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3bids · 3 electronic · 3 from abroad | 1 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Dundee Sherriff CourtReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
2 commercial parties on the notice- Anderson Strathern LLPFramework contractor
- Brodies LLPFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria