Legal Advice Relating to Procurement of a Delivery Partner to Support Ofwat's 2019 Price Review

Tender description

Overall objectives The objective of this procurement is to appoint an external law firm to provide practical, commercial, timely and robust advice and support on matters relating to procurement law and contract law. Ofwat requires procurement and contract law advice which: • must be available as and when required, including at short notice; • be delivered by suitably skilled and experienced legal advisers; offers best value for money; and • enables the development of in-house procurement and legal expertise. Scope of Requirement The scope of legal advice and services required includes but is not limited to: A) Procurement support with respect to the procurement of a delivery partner to support Ofwat's 2019 Price Review • Advice on the procurement approach and its draft timetable. We are looking for robust and responsive advice to guide us through the process which will support the formulation of an effective procurement strategy leading to agreement with a Delivery Partner by no later than end April 2018. The aim is to publish the ITT for preselection of potential partners by early December. There is therefore a premium on timely advice in this initial phase and an emphasis on the need for solutions-focused advice, including on risk-mitigation. • Advice on key documents: Ofwat has prepared drafts (or will prepare drafts) of the key procurement documents which will accompany the contract notice for consideration by the Supplier on appointment. The Supplier will be asked to advise on the documents (and others produced in the process), in particular with a view to enabling us to meet our commercial objectives in a legally robust way. There may well be documents which the Solicitor will be asked to draft on their own. • Advice on contract drafting: The Supplier will lead on the production and agreement of the contract. The contract will be complex as we are looking to incorporate risk sharing and incentives for high quality performance. Any contract will need to be suitably flexible to meet our needs, whilst providing appropriate protection to Ofwat. Therefore, it will need to incorporate appropriate protections across a range of legal areas, including without limitation, intellectual property, data protection, employment, governance arrangements, including partnering and teaming provisions, and incentive and penalty arrangements. The Supplier will support Ofwat in dealing with any queries on the draft contract with bidders up to the point of contract award. • Support throughout the procurement process; we are looking for a Supplier with sufficient experience to be able to provide valuable tactical, commercial and legally robust advice throughout the procurement on an ad hoc basis, focused on identifying the best solution and mitigating legal risk at every stage. Services that may be required include advice and support on legal matters related but not limited to drafting associated tender documentation, associated procurement documentation etc.