Legal services

Tender description

The requirements of the service are: 1) Conduct of investigative work on the GOC’s behalf in relation to fitness to practise allegations; 2) Preparation for, and presentation of, the GOC’s case at substantive Fitness to Practise Committee hearings; 3) Occasional preparation for, and presentation of the GOC’s case at non-substantive hearings (interim order applications/reviews/extensions, substantive order reviews) and Registration Appeal Committee hearings; 4) Provision of advice relating to the conduct of individual investigations into the fitness to practise of GOC registrants and also relating to interpretation of GOC legislation/Rules; 5) Provision of training to Council members, Committee members, Case Examiners and staff. We are seeking to procure legal support services for our Fitness to Practise (FTP) directorate, with effect from 1.5.2019. This year (2018-19) it is forecast that we will open approximately 300 fitness to practice investigations. Approximately 25 % of investigation cases are referred to the Fitness to Practise Committee each year. We expect to instruct approximately half of these referred cases out to the appointed providers, either for advocacy only, or for investigation and advocacy (for the sake of clarity, we expect to manage the other half in-house). We also expect to instruct appointed providers to undertake initial-stages investigations in a (total) maximum of 10-20 cases per annum. The provision of legal services will be governed by an agreement commencing 1.5.2019 and concluding 31.3.2021. We are looking to appoint a minimum of 2 service providers. The requirements of the service are: 1) Conduct of investigative work on the GOC’s behalf in relation to fitness to practise allegations; 2) Preparation for, and presentation of, the GOC’s case at substantive Fitness to Practise Committee hearings; 3) Occasional preparation for, and presentation of the GOC’s case at non-substantive hearings (interim order applications/reviews/extensions, substantive order reviews) and Registration Appeal Committee hearings; 4) Provision of advice relating to the conduct of individual investigations into the fitness to practise of GOC registrants and also relating to interpretation of GOC legislation/Rules; 5) Provision of training to Council members, Committee members, Case Examiners and staff.