Witness Service (2024 - 2028)

Tender description

The Secretary of State for Justice (the “Authority”) invites suppliers to bid for a contract to provide support services to witnesses attending court or involved in court hearings including: - Providing information to witnesses about their rights and the process of giving evidence; - Supporting witnesses through the trial process, before, during and after the trial; - Offering outreach support to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. Lot 1: The Witness Service is an existing service which is being re-procured. The service operates in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales, delivered by a combination of volunteers and paid staff providing emotional and practical support to prosecution and defence witnesses to enable them to give their best evidence. In the service being re-procured, priority will be given to delivering essential improvements in value-for-money and quality of service, as well as testing ambitious options to future-proof the design of the service based on lessons learned in recent years. The Authority intends to award a contract to a supplier to provide support which is guided by the following principles: - Continue to deliver a service for witnesses attending court - building on the existing model for support and the significant benefits it provides to witnesses. - Improve the service at a detailed level, learning lessons from victim policy in recent years. This will include working to create a more trauma-informed approach, improving the accessibility of the service and improving partnership working with victim advocates. The anticipated quantity or scope is an estimate of the potential value of the contract and does not in any way guarantee any level of expenditure. All values should be considered as indicative only.