Market Engagement - HMCTS Video Hearing Service

Tender description

The Ministry of Justice (hereafter the Authority) on behalf of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) seeks to obtain views from the supply chain to support the development of the procurement strategy for the video hearing project. The video hearing project enables remote attendance at court and tribunal hearings at judicial discretion. It is anticipated that this service will be available at all courts and tribunals (approximately 340) across England and Wales and potentially some tribunals in Scotland. This could result in a peak of up to 1500 hearings taking place using video services at any one time The project is a significant aspect of the Authority’s Covid response and ongoing recovery. Conducting remote (and hybrid) hearings is now an integral part of access to justice and managing the judicial process and this needs to be further developed and enhanced. This notice is not a call for competition but serves as an advertisement of a market engagement presentation and the subsequent release of a market engagement questionnaire. Any comments, indications of interest, participation, or non-participation by any organisation at this stage will not influence the process, selection or award decision for any future possible procurement, nor will it be taken as the organisations confirmed position. The market engagement presentation is scheduled to take place on Microsoft Teams at 10.30 am on the 14 December 2022 and will last approximately 1 hour. To participate in this market engagement event please notify your interest by sending an email to vhprocurement@justice.gov.uk. In the email, please state the name of your organisation and the name and email address of each attendee who the invite should be sent to. Organisations are limited to four attendees. A copy of the material used in the market engagement presentation and the market engagement questionnaire will be forwarded to you by email after the market engagement presentation. If you are unable to attend the market engagement presentation but would like to receive the market engagement presentation and the market engagement questionnaire, please advise to the email address above. Note that the deadline for the return of the market engagement questionnaire is the 6 January 2023. There is no guarantee that this market engagement exercise will progress into a procurement event and participation (or non- participation) in the market engagement will have no influence on any assessment of the organisation in any subsequent procurement exercise relating to the video hearing service. Lot 1: In 2017, HMCTS commenced a project to develop a Video Hearings Service which focussed on the development of a bespoke solution to meet the needs of court and tribunal users and to support remote participation. The Video Hearings Service has been designed to reflect the formality and gravitas of court and tribunal hearings, to replicate the in-court experience and to align with HMCTS’ strategic vision. In 2019 the Authority started to pilot the Video Hearings Service and it is now live in a small number of sites across three jurisdictions. HMCTS is seeking a partner to provide a video engine together with the capability to interface with the bespoke 'front end' design already developed. The final scope of this exercise and the procurement route are subject to approvals and will be informed by the outcome of this market engagement exercise. Additional information: Anticipated contract value £20m