Forestry Commission: Legal Services Contract

UK-Bristol: Legal services.

Section I: Contracting Authority

   I.1) Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
       Forestry England for and on behalf of the Forestry Commission
       620 Bristol Business Park, Bristol, BS16 1EJ, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 3000674000, Email: emily.coffin@forestryengland.uk
       Contact: Emily Coffin
       Main Address: https://www.forestryengland.uk/
       NUTS Code: UK

   I.2) Joint procurement:
      The contract involves joint procurement: No          
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not Provided
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No

   I.4)Type of the contracting authority:
      Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions

   I.5) Main activity:
      Other activity: Forestry

Section II: Object Of The Contract

   II.1) Scope of the procurement

      II.1.1) Title: Legal Services Contract            
      Reference number: Not Provided

      II.1.2) Main CPV code:
         79100000 - Legal services.


      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES

      II.1.4) Short description: We will be awarding a contract for the provision of Legal Services to the Forestry Commission. All arms of the Forestry Commission (Forestry England, Forest Services, Forest Research) will have access to utilise the services under the contract. As the most regular and largest user of Legal Services, Forestry England are managing the procurement of this contract.

Our intention is to award this contract for a period of 5 years.

      II.1.6) Information about lots
         This contract is divided into lots: Yes
                        
      II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
          Value: 5,000,000
                  
         Currency:GBP            

   II.2) Description (lot no. 1)
   

      II.2.1) Title:Property and General Business Advice   
      Lot No:1

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
            79100000 - Legal services.


      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UK - UNITED KINGDOM
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      UNITED KINGDOM
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: The principal area of work covered in Lot 1 is in relation to Property and Estate Management, however we also require general advice from across the wider business in relation to commercial, public, corporate and criminal law, amongst others.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
      Quality criterion - Name: Contract Management / Weighting: 20
      Quality criterion - Name: Staffing / Weighting: 15
      Quality criterion - Name: Instruction Management / Weighting: 10
      Quality criterion - Name: Sustainability and Social Value / Weighting: 10
      Quality criterion - Name: Contract Handover / Weighting: 5
                  
      Price - Weighting: 40
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: No
         

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Not Provided

   II.2) Description (lot no. 2)
   

      II.2.1) Title:Public Liability and Employment Liability Claims   
      Lot No:2

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
            79100000 - Legal services.


      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UK - UNITED KINGDOM
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      UNITED KINGDOM
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: The principal area of work covered in Lot 2 is in relation to advising and representing the Forestry Commission on claims made against or on behalf of the Forestry Commission, including those arising from incidents involving third parties, traffic accidents involving Forestry Commission vehicles, and handling of potential claims prior to formal letters of claim being received, amongst others.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
       Not Provided

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: No
         

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Not Provided

   II.2) Description (lot no. 3)
   

      II.2.1) Title:Employment   
      Lot No:3

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
            79100000 - Legal services.


      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UK - UNITED KINGDOM
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      UNITED KINGDOM
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: The principal area of work covered in Lot 3 is a fixed-fee monthly retain to cover the provision of a HR legal support helpline, as well as the provision of general advise and interpretation on employment legislation, specialist advice, to support and/or act on behalf of the Forestry Commission in contentious stand-alone employment law cases, liaising as necessary in relation to civil law personal injury cases relating to the employer's liability where there may be cross over with the ongoing employment, amongst others.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
      Quality criterion - Name: Contract Management / Weighting: 20
      Quality criterion - Name: Staffing / Weighting: 15
      Quality criterion - Name: Instruction Management / Weighting: 10
      Quality criterion - Name: Sustainability and Social Value / Weighting: 10
      Quality criterion - Name: Contract Handover / Weighting: 5
                  
      Price - Weighting: 40
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: No
         

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Not Provided


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

   IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Open


   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
      The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No       
      

   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction
      An electronic auction has been used: No

   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2) Administrative information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
       Notice number in the OJEU: 2024/S 000-031254
      
   

   IV.2.9) Information about termination of call for competition in the form of a prior information notice
      The contracting authority will not award any further contracts based on the above prior information notice: No

Section V: Award of contract

Award Of Contract (No.1)

   Contract No: FCCN1894/1    
   Lot Number: 1    
   Title: Property and General Business Advice

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 10/02/2025

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 8
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: Not Provided

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Mills & Reeve LLP, N/A
             24 King William Street, London, EC4R 9AT, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UK
            The contractor is an SME: No

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 3,500,000          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 3,500,000
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         

Award Of Contract (No.2)

   Contract No: FCCN1894/2    
   Lot Number: 2    
   Title: Public Liability and Employment Liability Claims

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 10/02/2025

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 5
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: Not Provided

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Weightmans LLP, OC326117
             100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9JQ, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UK
            The contractor is an SME: No

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 272,000          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 272,000
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         

Award Of Contract (No.3)

   Contract No: FCCN1894/3    
   Lot Number: 3    
   Title: Employment

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 10/02/2025

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 10
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: Not Provided

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Weightmans LLP, OC326117
             100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, EC4R 9AT, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UK
            The contractor is an SME: No

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 717,000          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 717,000
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         
Section VI: Complementary information

   VI.3) Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
To view this notice, please click here:
https://forestryengland.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=921447381
   VI.4) Procedures for review

      VI.4.1) Review body
          High Court
          London, WC2A 2LL, United Kingdom

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
         Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures: Not Provided

      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided

   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 31/07/2025