Official UK procurement notice
Procurement of Criminal Defence Direct Services from 4 May 2026
Authority: The Legal Aid Agency
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has launched the procurement process for the 2026 Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Contracts. These contracts will provide 24/7 telephone-based legal advice to individuals detained at police stations across England and Wales for non-indictable offences.
Two contracts will be awarded, with services commencing on 4 May 2026, following an implementation period and a 28-day dual operation phase.
CPV: Legal services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£2,360,000 together) · a supplier may bid for at most 1 and win at most 1 of them · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 2AwardedPublished value£1,180,000
Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 2
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA), on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, will run a procurement exercise to award contracts for two providers to deliver the CDD Service from on or around 1 March 2026.
Key Details:
- Service: 24/7 non means tested telephone-based legal advice for individuals detained at police stations for non-indictable offences.
- Contract Award: Two providers will each manage 50% of the caseload (with possible variations).
- Duration: 1 March 2026 – 31 May 2031.
Procurement Process Updates:
From 24 February 2025, all suppliers must use the Cabinet Office Central Digital Platform to share their organisation’s information with Contracting Authorities by providing a share code during the procurement process.
If suppliers are still unable to create a share code after getting assistance from the Cabinet Office, please email contact: [email protected].
Key Service Changes:
The LAA, as part of this procurement, will introduce the following key changes to the CDD Service that align with the move to enhanced flexibility and reducing barriers to support providers in successfully delivering the CDD contract and ensure consistency across similar services.
For the new CDD Contract the LAA are:
- allowing Applicants to choose the arrangements most suitable for their delivery models and are not specifying the office requirements;
- removing supervisor-to-advisor ratios;
- removing the requirement for supervisors to be on-site 35 hours/week; and
- introducing a new KPI to track client engagement and timeliness of advice
Lot #2Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 1AwardedPublished value£1,180,000
Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 1
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA), on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, will run a procurement exercise to award contracts for two providers to deliver the CDD Service from on or around 1 March 2026.
Key Details:
- Service: 24/7 non means tested telephone-based legal advice for individuals detained at police stations for non-indictable offences.
- Contract Award: Two providers will each manage 50% of the caseload (with possible variations).
- Duration: 1 March 2026 – 31 May 2031.
Procurement Process Updates:
From 24 February 2025, all suppliers must use the Cabinet Office Central Digital Platform to share their organisation’s information with Contracting Authorities by providing a share code during the procurement process.
If suppliers are still unable to create a share code after getting assistance from the Cabinet Office, please email contact: [email protected].
Key Service Changes:
The LAA, as part of this procurement, will introduce the following key changes to the CDD Service that align with the move to enhanced flexibility and reducing barriers to support providers in successfully delivering the CDD contract and ensure consistency across similar services.
For the new CDD Contract the LAA are:
- allowing Applicants to choose the arrangements most suitable for their delivery models and are not specifying the office requirements;
- removing supervisor-to-advisor ratios;
- removing the requirement for supervisors to be on-site 35 hours/week; and
- introducing a new KPI to track client engagement and timeliness of advice
What 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 award criteria (2)
- Quality: The Quality sub criteria are: 1.1 - Skills and experience of staff delivering specialist legal advice 1.2 - Staff Recruitment and Succession Planning 1.3 - Supervision of staff delivering specialist legal advice 2.1 - Management of the CDD Service 2.2 - Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan (BCDR) 2.3 - Contract resourcing and forecasting 3.1 - Implementation Plan 4.1 - Social Value Question
- Price: Case Fee
- Price carries 60 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
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
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 May 2025, 10:45 BST
- Last source update
- 6 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 30 Jan 2026
- Authority reference
CDD 2026- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-040454- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-052132Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
N/A
- Risks
A/A
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 28 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 30 Jul 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en, cy
Timeline
23 May 2025 → 1 Feb 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published23 May 2025, 10:45 BST
- Tender notice published16 Jul 2025, 11:24 BST
- Next notice expected16 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
- Clarification questions by30 Jul 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline28 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent289 days ago6 Jan 2026
- Latest notice published289 days ago6 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Standstill ends278 days ago16 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Award decision expected by264 days ago30 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts263 days ago1 Feb 2026
Notice history
7 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 May 2025- Planned procurement notice published23 May 2025, 10:45 BSTUK3
- Tender notice published16 Jul 2025, 11:24 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active16 Jul 2025, 11:24 BST
- Deadline moved to 28 Aug 2025, 17:00 BST16 Jul 2025, 11:24 BST+10 days · was 18 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Contract award notice published6 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete6 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Contract signature expected20 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across several lots1 award | |||
| The Johnson PartnershipSME, Watson WoodhouseSMEjoint award2026 Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Contract4 May 2026 – 31 May 2031 | £2,360,000 | 6 Jan 2026standstill to 16 Jan 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 2 | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) Service Procurement Exercise - Contract 1 | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- The Johnson PartnershipAwarded supplier
- Watson Woodhouse LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender