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News

Government plans new marketplace to provide commercial legal services to public sector

updated on 20 October 2017

A new £650 million commercial ‘legal services marketplace’ serving the public sector is being planned by the government.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS), which provides commercial services to the public sector, plans to set up a commercial vehicle to provide the marketplace, which firms can then bid to join. As Legal Futures reports, the marketplace itself will serve central government departments and their associated bodies, including the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Services will be offered in over 35 “legal practice sectors”, which will break down into over 75 smaller practice areas.

The plans form part of CCS’s reshaping of how the public sector procures legal services. More information on how the marketplace will work is expected in late November.