Official UK procurement notice
Utility Regulator - Legal Services Framework Agreement
Authority: Utility Regulator (Central government)·On behalf of: CPD
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (Utility Regulator) is seeking to put in place a framework for legal advice to support the in-house team. The framework consists of four Lots. Suppliers should refer to the Specification Schedule for full detail on the requirements of this Framework Agreement. The overall estimated framework value is £4 Million (ex VAT), however you should note the requirement is demand led and the Buyer does not give any guarantee as to the volume of work that will be commissioned under this framework. The Framework Agreement will be valid for a period of 3 years with an option to extend for one further year.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 23 Jul 2030, 23:59 BST.
CPV: Law-courts-related administrative services · Legal advisory and information services · Legal advisory and representation services · Legal advisory services · Legal documentation and certification services · Legal representation services · Legal services · Stakeholders representation services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Framework period
- 3 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 20 Oct 2026
Published description of the framework
A maximum of five Suppliers will be appointed to each Lot, based on the highest ranking suppliers per Lot. Suppliers will be awarded a place on the relevant lots on a ranked basis. UR reserves the right to use one of two methods to call off the framework as follows. The majority of work is expected to be called off using Method 1 (Ranked) but UR reserves the right to use Method 2 (Further Competition) when required. Please see Specification section 3 for further details.
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · all with a published value · same conditions of participation on every lotEvery one of these 2 lots carries the same published figure, £1,250,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.
Lot #1Energy/Water/Utilities Specialist Legal Expertise. General utilities law expertise (UK Wide)Renewalceiling above
Advice, support and, where appropriate, legal representation in all areas of Energy, Utilities and Water Law, including, but not limited to; Advice on application and interpretation of the requirements of energy law and regulation to include the interpretation of related licence conditions that are of direct relevance to the work of economic regulators and the energy industry in the UK. Advice on application and interpretation of the requirements of water law and regulation including the Water and Sewerage Services in the UK and relevant licences.
- Economic & financial standing
CoP1 Practicing Certificate
CoP2 Quality Standards
CoP3 Cyber Essentials Plus
Lot #2Regulatory law, European law, Public and administrative law, and competition law (UK Wide)Renewalceiling above
Advice, support and where appropriate legal representation in regulatory, public, administrative and competition law including but not limited to:
Advice on European law in particular advice on addressing EU infractions and EU Directives transposition that are of direct relevance to the work of UR and the energy/utilities industries.
Advice on interpretation and application of other UK legislation relevant to the regulation of energy and water, including the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 and the Competition Act 1998.
Advice on competition powers that economic regulators hold concurrently with the Competition and Markets Authority (functions formerly performed by the Office of Fair Trading/Competition Commission).
Advice on energy and water related matters impacted by international law, for example the European Convention on Human Rights and Human Rights Act and cross-border and constitutional law.
Advice on environmental law and renewable energy law.
- Economic & financial standing
CoP1 Practicing Certificate
CoP2 Quality Standards
CoP3 Cyber Essentials Plus
Lot #3Commercial, Corporate and Contract Law; Property Law: and Employment Law and Information Law (NI Specific)RenewalPublished value£1,000,000
Advice on corporate / commercial law including the Companies Act 2006 and all forms of contractual disputes and potential litigation which need commercial energy contract experts in GB.
Advice on EU procurement law.
Advice on finance law arrangements for example loan agreements, debentures, share equity issues, debt financing.
Advice on insolvency law for example administration, special administration, schemes of arrangement.
Advice on NI employment and trade union law.
Advice on information law including application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Advice, support and where appropriate legal representation in areas of property law including but not limited to:
Disposal, purchase and development of land and property, including development agreements and construction documentation.
Compulsory acquisition of land, compensation law and representation at Lands Tribunal.
- Economic & financial standing
CoP1 Practicing Certificate
CoP2 Quality Standards
CoP3 Cyber Essentials Plus
Lot #4Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution (NI Specific)RenewalPublished value£500,000
Advice, support and where appropriate legal representation in areas of civil litigation and dispute including but not limited to:
General litigation: Contract disputes, tort claims, judicial reviews.
Regulatory enforcement: Legal support in enforcing statutory duties or defending against challenges.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Mediation, arbitration, expert determination.
Disclosure and evidence handling.
Specialist litigation: Environmental, competition, or procurement-related disputes.
- Economic & financial standing
CoP1 Practicing Certificate
CoP2 Quality Standards
CoP3 Cyber Essentials Plus
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).
- Economic & financial standing
CoP1 Practicing Certificate
CoP2 Quality Standards
CoP3 Cyber Essentials Plus
- “Utility Regulator - Legal Services Framework Agreement” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
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
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- 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 · next expected 23 Jul 2030
- First published
- 23 Jul 2026, 16:36 BST
- Last source update
- 23 Jul 2026, 16:36 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 2 Oct 2026
- Authority reference
ID 6281449- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-069936- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d27aFind a Tender- Contract terms summary
For details on invoicing procedures please see : www.finance-ni.gov.uk/articles/account-ni-… ↗
The estimated value figure indicated in the Scope Section represents an overall estimated contract value. This value reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into account the potential optional extension period. This figure does not however take into account the application of indexation or increases to charges due to increases in the Real Living Wage. Neither CPD nor the Buyer can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract. The Buyer does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Suppliers remain responsible for all costs and expenses
incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from the Supplier in connection with taking part in this procurement process regardless of whether such costs arise as a consequence, directly or indirectly of any amendments made to the procurement documents by the Buyer at any time. No legally binding contract shall arise (and a Supplier shall have no legitimate expectation that a contract will be entered into) until such time as entry into the Contract has been confirmed by the
Buyer.
- Risks
If at any time during the procurement, or post award, it comes to the attention of the Buyer or CPD, by whatever means, that a Supplier has become 'excluded' or 'excludable' as per Sec 57 of the PA 2023, the CA, after compliance with its obligations under the PA 23, reserves the right to exclude said Supplier from the procurement procedure or terminate any contract they have been awarded.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 24 Aug 2026, 15:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 17 Aug 2026, 15:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the relevant Call for Tender (CfT) opportunity on eTendersNI, website details immediately below.
Paper submissions will not be accepted or considered and will be rejected by the Contracting Authority / Buyer. The tender documents are available with unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: URL etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗
Timeline
23 Jul 2026 → 20 Oct 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published91 days ago23 Jul 2026, 16:36 BST
- Clarification questions by66 days ago17 Aug 2026, 15:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends59 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown24 Aug 2026, 15:00 BST
- Award decision expected by20 days ago2 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts3 days ago20 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published23 Jul 2026, 16:36 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- CPDBeneficiary authority
- CPD - Supplies and Services DivisionProcess contact pointProcuring entityConstruction and Procurement Delivery - Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender