CONTRACT NOTICE – NATIONAL

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address

1.2

Address from which documentation may be obtained

1.3

Completed documents must be returned to:

As in 1.1

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

WCC ITT Legal Services and Advice 0118

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

The Wales Co-operative Centre requires Suppliers to provide Specialist legal services and advice. The Service will support WCC with corporate legal matters and support its client and project work by providing specialist knowledge and advice that would not be available from mainstream business support. All client beneficiaries, where possible, will receive the Service local to their business area. Social business clients will be identified by an awareness raising campaign, via the WCC or signposting from other programmes such as Business Wales.

In order to respond to the specific needs of the WCC and client social businesses, Consultants will be sought who are able to provide expert legal knowledge in specialist advice and guidance areas as detailed below:

Lot 1 - Employment Law and Pensions

Lot 2 - Property Law and Facilities Management

Lot 3 - Corporate and Commercial

The Framework Agreement will be awarded into 3 Lots as indicated below across various disciplines. Tenderers can bid for one or many Lots, and the number of places to be awarded across the Lots of the framework will be as shown:

Lot 1 - Employment Law and Pensions

Lot 2 - Property Law and Facilities Management

Lot 3 - Corporate and Commercial

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at http://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=75313.

The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at http://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.

Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

2.4

Total quantity or scope of tender

Lot 1 - Employment Law and Pensions

Lot 2 - Property Law and Facilities Management

Lot 3 - Corporate and Commercial

Total overall value of the contract will be £149,999.

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

In order to respond to the specific needs of the WCC and client social businesses, Consultants will be sought who are able to provide expert legal knowledge in specialist advice and guidance areas as detailed below:

• Employment Law and Pensions

• Property Law and Facilities Management

• Corporate and Commercial

One crucial requirement for prospective Tenderers is knowledge and experience of the Social Business Sector, and they will be expected to demonstrate how any proposed Adviser meets the requirements of this specification.

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Single stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

N/a

4.3

Time Limits

4.5

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

Welsh

4.6

Tender Submission Postbox

5 Other Information

5.1

Additional Information

Much of the support will be delivered to the Centre to support the Social Business Wales project. Social Business Wales (SBW) is part of the Business Wales family and provides specialist business support to growth social businesses across Wales. Social businesses include social enterprises, co-operatives, mutuals and employee owned businesses.

SBW delivers against the SME competitiveness objective (priority 2) within the ERDF programme. The operation aligns directly with specific objective 2.4 to increase the growth of those SMEs with growth potential, in particular through accessing new markets (both domestic and international).

Indicators and provisional targets are listed below, (which are subject to further clarity about targets from WEFO):

• Employment increase in supported enterprises (500)

• Enterprises receiving non-financial support (500)

• Enterprises adopting or improving sustainable development strategies (250)

• Enterprises adopting or improving equality strategies/monitoring systems (250)

(WA Ref:75313)

Relates to the following project/programme financed by EU Community Funds: Social Business Wales

The buyer considers that this contract is suitable for consortia bidding.

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice