The bid round for civil contracts for 2013 began on 21 May with
the issue of pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) for applicants
for face-to-face advice contracts. The PQQs for telephone advice
contracts were issued on 22 May.
The categories not listed below but remaining in scope - such as
mental health and community care - will continue and are not being
re-tendered in this bid round. The contracts being let from 1 April
2013 are:
Face-to-face advice:
- family
- housing and debt
- immigration ie asylum plus residual immigration work remaining
in scope
There will also be tenders for additional contracts for the
housing possession court duty scheme and mediation.
Telephone advice:
Combined telephone and face-to-face:
- discrimination
- special educational needs
Only the providers who get telephone contracts for
discrimination and education will be able to do those cases either
at the advice or representation level. Anyone who was hoping to
continue to undertake representation in either category will only
be able to do so if they secure a telephone contract.
There are separate PQQs for face-to-face services and telephone
services. The face-to-face contract is non-competitive and all
those who satisfy the PQQ requirements will be able to complete an
invitation to tender (ITT). For telephone advice and combined
telephone/face-to-face contracts there is a competitive element and
only those shortlisted at the PQQ stage will be able to submit an
ITT.
Deadline for tenders
The deadline for submitting PQQs for face-to-face contracts is
12 noon on Monday 18 June.
The deadline for submitting PQQs for telephone contracts is 12
noon on Tuesday 19 June.
Further details about the tenders
Face-to-face
tender
Telephone
advice tender