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Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 20 Mar 2026, 09:18 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Insurance Claims Handling Legal Services

Official notice

Authority: Sunderland City Council (Local council)

Framework agreementServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: Financial and insurance services (66)Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: North East (UKC23)
Framework ceiling (notional)£240,000framework ceiling, not attributable revenue · 1 value update
Submissions closed 16 Jun 2026awarded 10 Jul 2026
Awarded to Forbes Solicitors
Framework period 4 yrsends 25 Aug 2030 · starts 26 Aug 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Provision of Insurance Claims Handling Legal Services

CPV: Financial and insurance services · Legal services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Type
Closed framework
Call-offs
call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
Bids received
1 bids received · 1 suppliers appointed
Framework period
4 yrs from 26 Aug 2026
Published description of the framework

Fixed price period of framework

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Awarded 4 yrsSMEPublished value£240,000
Contract period: 26 Aug 2026 – 25 Aug 2030 (4 yrs)Value: £240,000 exc. VAT · £288,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: North EastEligibility: SME eligible
66000000 Financial and insurance services79100000 Legal services
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Legal and financial conditions of participation are included in this procurement. Full information regarding the legal and financial conditions of participation can be found in the associated Procurement Documents.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Technical ability conditions of participation are included in this procurement. Full information regarding the technical ability conditions of participation can be found in the associated Procurement Documents.

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 were scored
Quality: 58%Price: 37%Social value: 5%
Published sub-criteria (3)
  • Quality: 58%
  • Price: 37%
  • Social Value Monetary Value: 5%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Price
  • Quality
  • Social Value Monetary Value
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Legal and financial conditions of participation are included in this procurement. Full information regarding the legal and financial conditions of participation can be found in the associated Procurement Documents.

  • Technical & professional ability

    Technical ability conditions of participation are included in this procurement. Full information regarding the technical ability conditions of participation can be found in the associated Procurement Documents.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 37 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.7 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
  • “Insurance Claims Handling Legal Services” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
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
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
20 Mar 2026, 09:18 GMT
Last source update
21 Oct 2026, 07:34 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 15 Jul 2026
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-044738
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Financial and insurance servicesLegal services
Delivery area
North East (UKC23)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-066fcf Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: OPEN-UK
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free
Appointment period ends
16 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

The opportunity can be accessed via the NEPO eTender system, Open www.open-uk.org ↗

If you need technical assistance from the Open Support team, this can be requested via

[email protected]

PLEASE NOTE: Open is accessible 24/7 however, technical support is available Monday - Thursday 8:30 - 5pm and Friday 8.30 - 4.30pm

For guidance on how to submit your response through Open, please visit: www.openhub.org/training ↗ (www.open-hub.org/training ↗) (www.open-hub.org/training ↗ (www.openhub.org/training ↗)) to access the available Training Guides.

Timeline

20 Mar 2026 → 21 Oct 2026 · 9 dates
  1. Planning notice published219 days ago
    20 Mar 2026, 09:18 GMT
  2. Market engagement206 days ago
    2 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST

    This will be an online questionnaire which can be obtained from www.open-uk.org ↗

    Reference Number:OPEN2026499

  3. Tender notice published163 days ago
    15 May 2026, 08:34 BST
  4. Admission / appointment period ends131 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown
    16 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
  5. Assessment summaries sent108 days ago
    10 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
  6. Award decision expected by102 days ago
    15 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
  7. Standstill ends95 days ago
    22 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
  8. Contract starts61 days ago
    26 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
  9. Latest notice published4 days ago
    21 Oct 2026, 07:34 BST

Notice history

10 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 Mar 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    20 Mar 2026, 09:18 GMT
    UK2
  2. Tender notice published
    15 May 2026, 08:34 BST
    UK4
  3. Published value published: £240,000
    15 May 2026, 08:34 BST
  4. Status changed to active
    15 May 2026, 08:34 BST
  5. Procurement method changed
    15 May 2026, 08:34 BST
  6. Deadline published: 16 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
    15 May 2026, 08:34 BST
  7. Contract award notice published
    10 Jul 2026, 13:03 BST
    UK6
  8. Status changed to complete
    10 Jul 2026, 13:03 BST
  9. Contract signature expected
    24 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled
  10. Contract details notice published
    21 Oct 2026, 07:34 BST
    UK7
Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2026-03: 1 release · 20 Mar 2026

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Suppliers appointed 11 award · see the list ↓
Bids received 11 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 16 Oct 2026
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Forbes Solicitors26 Aug 2026 – 25 Aug 2030£300,00010 Jul 2026Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 1 · Forbes Solicitors

    Signed
    16 Oct 2026
    Value
    £300,000
    Period
    16 Oct 2026 – 25 Aug 2030
    Status
    active

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
1final-stage tenders10—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Sunderland City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PLVZ-4154-GGRZ City Hall, Plater Way,, Sunderland, North East, SR1 3AAContact email

Framework contractors & participating bidders

1 commercial party on the notice
  • FORBES SOLICITORS LLPFramework contractorGB-COH: OC433300GB-PPON: PMMP-2131-QPLJ Gordon House Sceptre Way Walton Summit Centre, Preston, North West, PR5 6AWContact email

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Bidding documents and specifications tenderBidding documents and specificationsAccess to full tender documents https;//open-uk.org Please note there will be a supplier briefing being held via Microsoft Teams at 10:00am Wednesday 3rd June 2026, if you would like to attend please request an invite via email to [email protected]

Notices published for this procedure