Published date: 1 February 2024

This notice was replaced on 21 April 2022

This notice does not contain the most up-to-date information about this procurement. The most recent notice is:

Opportunity (published 1 February 2024, last edited 27 April 2025)

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Contract summary

Industry

  • Law-courts-related administrative services - 75231100

Location of contract

North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West, Scotland, Wales

Value of contract

£0

Procurement reference

tender_176932/987172

Published date

1 February 2024

Closing date

8 September 2021

Closing time

3pm

Contract start date

15 December 2021

Contract end date

14 December 2023

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (above threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements above the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes


Description

This notice relates to a procurement exercise conducted under the light tough regime, following a process similar to the open procedure.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is inviting tenders for the provision of Court Appointed Intermediary Services (CAIS), to support vulnerable defendants in the criminal jurisdiction and vulnerable parties and witnesses in the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions. These services will be provided in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and tribunals in Scotland.

Intermediaries facilitate impartial communication to enable complete, coherent and accurate communication between vulnerable people and the courts/tribunals. Intermediaries may be instructed to provide an assessment of a person's communication needs, and provide recommendations on measures that could be put in place by the court to support vulnerable people, young people, children and other individuals who may need assistance during court proceedings. The intermediary may also be required to attend hearings to provide such assistance and support.

For the avoidance of doubt, the MoJ is only seeking tenders in relation to intermediary services that currently fall outside the remit of the MoJ Witness Intermediary Scheme (MoJ WIS). All requests for intermediary support for witnesses in criminal cases will continue to be managed via the MoJ WIS.


More information

Additional text

The MoJ invites tenders for Court Appointed Intermediary Services to support the formation of two framework agreements: the Managed & Approved Service Provider framework (MASP), and the Approved Service Provider framework (ASP).

The MASP framework seeks providers with the ability to manage multiple simultaneous bookings, and the capability to recruit, train and manage intermediaries to support a range of vulnerabilities, for deployment nationally.

The ASP framework seeks experienced and qualified intermediaries to support bookings on demand.

There is no limit to the number of service providers awarded a place on either framework, however a service provider may not hold a place on both the MASP and ASP frameworks simultaneously.

The MoJ is managing this procurement in accordance with its general obligations under UK law and specifically in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCRs) and the Light Touch Regime contained within Regulations 74 to 77.

The framework agreements will be dynamic frameworks and a hybrid of a framework agreement and dynamic purchasing system. As such, the framework agreements will be reopened at six month intervals for the admission of new service providers who qualify against the selection and award criteria outlined in the procurement documents.


About the buyer

Address

102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
England

Email

CCMDIntermediaries@justice.gov.uk