Provision of Legal Services relating to Debt Enforcement Actions for AHDB

This document is an invitation to participate in a tender opportunity for the supply of legal services relating to civil and criminal enforcement, principally debt recovery for the Board and its subsidiary companies. The services are to be supplied for 2 years with the option to extend for a further 2 periods of 12 months each, a break clause will be enforced after each year to assess and review performance.

This tender opportunity is open to law firms who have the capability to provide such services, covering three jurisdictions; England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. We appreciate some suppliers may need to subcontract work in other jurisdictions.

AHDB has a nucleus of levy payers who are reluctant to make statutory returns or to pay. Many of these do respond to its reminder process which includes letters before action from its providers of legal services.

Additional information:

Suppliers Instructions How to Express Interest in this Tender~:

1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once) - Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register - Accept the terms and conditions and click 'continue' - Enter your correct business and user details - Note the username you chose and click 'Save' when complete - You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure)
2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant PQQ/ ITT to access the content. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box
3. Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT - There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available) You must then submit your reply using the 'Submit Response' button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help.