Legal services - future of SWAN

Concepts

• legal services
• future of swan procurement project
• common services agency
• edinburgh
• national services scotland
• national health service
• provision of legal services
• legal work
• qualified legal advisors
• future of swan

Location

Edinburgh

Description

Provision of legal services for the Future of Swan procurement project.

Total Quantity or Scope

1. The Common Services Agency (more commonly known as National Services Scotland), a statutory body constituted pursuant to the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (“NSS”) is the contracting authority for the Scottish Wide Area Network (“SWAN”) which serves the public sector in Scotland. NSS has been instructed by the SWAN members to undertake a procurement for a framework agreement to replace the current SWAN (the “Project”). 2. NSS requires a high level of professional legal and commercial advice and support throughout the Project and optionally for the duration of the resulting framework. NSS requires to appoint appropriately experienced and qualified legal advisors (the “Firm”) to act on its behalf, to provide pro-active advice on all the contractual and legal aspects of the Project and generally undertake all legal work required to facilitate successful completion of the Project, including those set out in more detail in the ITT.

CPV Codes

• 79100000 - Legal services

Indicators

• Bids should cover the whole contract.
• Staff qualifications are relevant.

Other Information

Only a Firm which will use staff to provide the Legal Services who are appropriately qualified in Scots Law will be considered. Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2361 A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows: The Public Sector in Scotland is committed to the delivery of high quality public services, and recognises that this is critically dependent on a workforce that is well-rewarded, well-motivated, well-led, has access to appropriate opportunities for training and skills development,diverse and engaged in decision making. These factors are also important for workforce recruitment and retention, and thus continuity of service. Public Bodies in Scotland are adopting fair work practices, which include: A fair and equal pay policy that includes a commitment to supporting the Living Wage, including, for example being a Living Wage Accredited Employer; clear managerial responsibility to nurture talent and help individuals fulfil their potential, including for example, a strong commitment to Modern Apprenticeships and the development of Scotland's young workforce; Promoting equality of opportunity and developing a workforce which reflects the population of Scotland in terms of characteristics such as age, gender, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation and disability; Support for learning and development; Stability of employment and hours of work, and avoiding exploitative employment practices, including for example no inappropriate use of zero-hours contracts; Flexible working (including for example practices such as flexi-time and career breaks) and support for family friendly working and wider work life balance; Support progressive workforce engagement, for example Trade Union recognition and representation where possible, otherwise alternative arrangements to give staff an effective voice. In order to ensure the highest standards of service quality in this contract we expect contractors to take a similarly positive approach to fair work practices as part of a fair and equitable employment and reward package. --- Please describe how you will commit to fair work practices for workers (including any agency or sub-contractor workers) engaged in the delivery of this contract. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=640454. The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/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. Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2361 A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows: Please see VI.3 (SC Ref:640454)