Specialist Legal Support Panel

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is looking for organisations who are interested in providing specialist legal support for the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS) via the Specialist Legal Support Panel. The MoJ intends to contract a supplier for up to 13 months to fulfill this requirement, with a contract value of approximately £600,000, depending on demand for the Panel's services.

Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service

The HLPAS is a new government initiative launching on 1st August 2023 which expands legal aid provision for those facing the loss of their home to include early legal advice on housing, debt and welfare benefits issues.

HLPAS will be provided in two stages to individuals at risk of losing their home by legal aid providers. Stage 1 involves providing legal advice on housing, welfare benefits and debt issues to individuals facing home possession proceedings, with the aim of resolving problems early and avoiding court proceedings. Stage 2 provides in-court legal representation during possession hearings.

Potential bidders for HLPAS have expressed concerns about the lack of expertise in social welfare law and the risk of malpractice claims they may face when delivering the early legal advice in Stage 1. These risks could undermine HLPAS's objectives of reducing demand on the courts and public services via early resolution.

Specialist Legal Support Panel

In response to these concerns, the MoJ are launching the Specialist Legal Support Panel, to provide advice, guidance, and training on social welfare law, targeted at new HLPAS providers. The panel will service two functions: i) offering an advice service to HLPAS providers with queries regarding casework, and ii) providing social welfare law training to enhance providers' expertise.

The contract will run for 13 months, commencing in August 2023, and £0.6m has been allocated to fund the panel. The panel will be expected to be available to HLPAS providers between 10am-4pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). We are exploring cost models for the contract and welcome comments from potential suppliers during the market engagement session.

This Prior Information Notice is for market engagement purposes only. It does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by MoJ. If MoJ decides to commence any procurement process as contemplated by this notice, a separate notice will be published at the relevant time.  

Additional information: MoJ is holding a virtual market engagement event on 5th April 2023 at 15:30 until 16:15

This event is open to suppliers whose service offering potentially matches MoJ requirements for the Specialist Legal Support Panel.

The event will provide potential suppliers with more information on the aims, requirements, proposed timelines of the Specialist Legal Support Panel, the opportunity to ask questions and request further information.

It will also provide the MoJ with a better understanding of the market's capability to deliver the Specialist Legal Support Panel.

How to join the virtual market engagement event:

Suppliers are invited to attend a virtual market engagement event on 5th April 2023 at 15:30 .

The virtual market engagement event will be delivered via Microsoft Teams and recordings will be made available for those unable to attend.

To book your attendance (max. two people per organisation), please use the below link (copy and paste into your browser) to register via Microsoft Teams:

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5a9da803-9126-46a5-8f68-bd6c755d9ea7@c6874728-71e6-41fe-a9e1-2e8c36776ad8

Following the event, suppliers will be invited to complete a follow-up questionnaire. This questionnaire will offer suppliers the opportunity to ask any further questions on the Specialist Legal Support Panel. All questions and answers received during the event and through the questionnaire will be published and may be used in further market engagement activities.

Please use the below link to complete the follow-up questionnaire. The follow-up questionnaire will be active from 6th April 2023 to 12th April 2023.

https://forms.office.com/e/NTrAewW3B4

Please note this is a preliminary market engagement event. The publication of this notice does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by the MoJ to undertake any procurement exercise. The value provided for the Specialist Legal Support Panel contract is indicative and the MoJ does not guarantee or commit to a specific value at this stage.