Find a TenderPast planning notice
Published 30 Sept 2021, 22:45 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Witness Services (2023-2027) · UK public procurement notice

Official notice

Authority: Ministry of Justice (Central government)

Services
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 15 Dec 2021from the planned procurement notice

What is being bought

Published requirement description

We would like to invite interested parties to attend an online Supplier Event which will take place on 20 October 2021.

To express an interest either in attending this event and/or participating in this competition please email: [email protected]

The form of response should be limited to the provision of a single point of contact (full company name, contact name, job title, e-mail address and telephone number).

CPV: Justice services · Law-courts-related administrative services · Legal advisory and information services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1The Ministry of Justice will shortly commence the procurement of a new contract for…Planned

The Ministry of Justice will shortly commence the procurement of a new contract for the Witness Service.

The Witness Service is an existing service which will be recommissioned. The Witness Service has operated in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 2003, with a combination of volunteers and paid staff providing emotional and practical support to prosecution and defence witnesses to enable them to give their best evidence.

The future service will be materially similar to the current model. However, we will also examine options for future improvement through effective engagement with the market.

The Ministry of Justice is seeking a provider to provide support guided by the following principles, reflecting our vision for the service:

To continue to deliver a service for witnesses attending court - building on the existing model for support and the significant benefits it provides to witnesses.

To provide the service flexibility to better respond to new challenges, including pandemic-like scenarios, future use of Nightingale courts, Extended Operating Hours and support witnesses in giving remote and pre-recorded evidence.

To improve the service at a detailed level, learning lessons from victim policy in recent years. This will include working to create a more trauma-informed approach, improving the accessibility of the service and improving partnership working with victim advocates.

To create opportunities within the service design to test ambitious options for future improvement of the service, including through digital support.

Indicative project milestones include:

Competition Live - December 2021

Award confirmed and transition commenced - August 2022

Launch of the Future Witness Service (latest) - January 2021

The scope of the service, is being finalised, including through feedback from the market, and will be confirmed in the Contract notice.

Delivery: UK

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Past planning notice
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
30 Sept 2021, 22:45 BST
Last source update
7 Oct 2021, 22:45 BST
FTS notice number
2021/S 000-025125
Classification (CPV)
Justice servicesLaw-courts-related administrative servicesLegal advisory and information services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02e6a7 Find a Tender

Publisher note: The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to: (i) Inform the market of a prospective contract opportunity in connection with the procurement for the Future Witness Service; and (ii) give notice of the MoJ's intention to request feedback that may be relevant to the procurement strategy that may be adopted by the MoJ. The Authority plans to hold a Supplier Event on Wednesday 20 October 2021. Suppliers interested in attending the event should confirm their interest by 5pm on Thursday 14 October 2021 by sending an email to the Future Witness Service commercial team at [email protected]. The form of response should be limited to the provision of a single point of contact (full company name, contact name, job title, e-mail address and telephone number). The Authority will then issue invitations to all interested parties, confirming the timings and location of the events. Details of interested parties shall be added to the Authority’s e-sourcing portal, in order to share information.

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

7 Oct 2021 → 15 Dec 2021 · 2 dates
  1. Notice published
    7 Oct 2021, 22:45 BST
  2. Tender notice expected
    15 Dec 2021

Notice history

3 releases on Find a Tender
Published amendments (2 · 0 deadline changes)
WhenWhatBeforeAfterShift
—TextII.1.4)The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to: (i) Inform the market of a prospective contract opportunity in connection with the procurement for the Future Witness Service; and (ii) give notice of the MoJ's intention to request feedback that may be relevant to the procurement strategy that may be adopted by the MoJ. The Authority plans to hold a Supplier Event on Friday 8 October 2021.…The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to: (i) Inform the market of a prospective contract opportunity in connection with the procurement for the Future Witness Service; and (ii) give notice of the MoJ's intention to request feedback that may be relevant to the procurement strategy that may be adopted by the MoJ. The Authority plans to hold a Supplier Event on Wednesday 20 October 2…
—TextII.2.4)The Ministry of Justice will shortly commence the procurement of a new contract for the Witness Service. The Witness Service is an existing service which will be recommissioned. The Witness Service has operated in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 2003, with a combination of volunteers and paid staff providing emotional and practical support to prosecution and defence witnesses to ena…The Ministry of Justice will shortly commence the procurement of a new contract for the Witness Service. The Witness Service is an existing service which will be recommissioned. The Witness Service has operated in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 2003, with a combination of volunteers and paid staff providing emotional and practical support to prosecution and defence witnesses to ena…
—TextII.1.1)PIN: Market Engagement for Witness Service (2023-2027)Witness Service (2023-2027)
—TextII.2.4)The Ministry of Justice will shortly commence the procurement of a new contract for the Witness Service. The Witness Service is an existing service which will be recommissioned. The Witness Service has operated in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 2003, with a combination of volunteers and paid staff providing emotional and practical support to prosecution and defence witnesses to ena…The Ministry of Justice will shortly commence the procurement for the future Witness Service. The Witness Service is an existing service, which has operated in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales for the last 25 years. The service is highly valued by stakeholders and partners for the independent, emotional and practical support it has provided witnesses over the last two decades to enable the…
—TextII.1.4)The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to: (i) Inform the market of a prospective contract opportunity in connection with the procurement for the Future Witness Service; and (ii) give notice of the MoJ's intention to request feedback that may be relevant to the procurement strategy that may be adopted by the MoJ. The Authority plans to hold a Supplier Event on Wednesday 20 October 2…We would like to invite interested parties to attend an online Supplier Event which will take place on 20 October 2021. To express an interest either in attending this event and/or participating in this competition please email: [email protected] The form of response should be limited to the provision of a single point of contact (full company name, contact name, job title, e-ma…

The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to: (i) Inform the market of a prospective contract opportunity in connection with the procurement for the Future Witness Service; and (ii) give notice of the MoJ's intention to request feedback that may be relevant to the procurement strategy that may be adopted by the MoJ. The Authority plans to hold a Supplier Event on Wednesday 20 October …

1 amendment published without a description.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Justice

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsSocial protection 102 Petty France, London, UK, SW1H 9AJContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.