AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
The Home Office awarded an active framework call-off for flexible external paralegal and solicitor support for the Manston Inquiry. The notice names DWF as supplier, but its legal identity remains unverified because the completed Companies House matching workflow found no safe match. The award value is £870,000; however, the tender-level value is separately stated as £100,000, creating an unresolved value discrepancy.
Published outcomeOne active award is recorded to DWF under Lot 1 of RM6360, with a stated contract period from 1 September 2026 to 31 July 2028.
Market significanceThis is a legal-services call-off supporting a public inquiry, with no guaranteed volumes or spend committed despite the published award value.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
DWF
82% confidenceAward ocds-b5fd17-02405c06-6a4d-41ed-875e-6d568afe3b86-1 · Lots Lot 1 of RM6360 (as described; no structured lot allocation supplied) · 870000 GBP · active
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The award names DWF as supplier and states an award value of £870,000. Supplier verification status is checked_unmatched, so the name is unverified.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice status
98% confidenceAwarded; source record marked complete
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Process display status is "awarded" and source status is "complete"; notice type is "Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder".
Award status
98% confidenceActive
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Award ocds-b5fd17-02405c06-6a4d-41ed-875e-6d568afe3b86-1 has status "active".
Award decision date
98% confidence22 September 2026
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The award date is 2026-09-22.
Contract period stated
98% confidence1 September 2026 to 31 July 2028
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The award and tender contract periods state these dates.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value
98% confidence£870,000
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Award record value is 870000 GBP.
Tender-level value
98% confidence£100,000
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Tender value is stated as 100000 GBP.
Volume commitment
98% confidenceNo guaranteed volumes or spend committed
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The published description states: "No guaranteed volumes or spend committed."
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Submission deadline
98% confidence31 August 2026, 12:00 BST
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Tender period end date is 2026-08-31T12:00:00+01:00.
Contract start date
98% confidence1 September 2026
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Tender and award contract periods state a start date of 2026-09-01.
Award decision date
98% confidence22 September 2026
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Award date is 2026-09-22.
Award notice publication
98% confidence8 October 2026
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Award notice datePublished is 2026-10-08T15:27:21+01:00.
Contract end date
98% confidence31 July 2028
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Tender and award contract periods state an end date of 2028-07-31T23:59:59+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
98% confidenceExternal paralegal and solicitor support for the Manston Inquiry
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The description states that legal services will provide external paralegal and solicitor support for the inquiry.
Service classification
98% confidenceLegal advisory and representation services (CPV 79110000)
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Primary CPV classification is 79110000.
Framework route
94% confidenceLot 1 of RM6360
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The description identifies legal services from Lot 1 (RM6360).
Delivery location
94% confidenceLondon, United Kingdom
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Tender item delivery address identifies the London region, United Kingdom.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement method
98% confidenceSelective
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Tender procurement method is "selective".
Procurement route
98% confidenceCall-off from a framework agreement
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Procurement method details state "Call-off from a framework agreement".
Competition information
99% confidenceNumber of bidders and evaluation results unknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Engagement model
98% confidenceFlexible, as-required support
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The description states support will be provided "on a flexible and as required basis".
Guaranteed commitment
98% confidenceNone stated
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The description explicitly says no guaranteed volumes or spend are committed.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Demand certainty
94% confidenceLow commitment visibility
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The buyer states that no volumes or spend are guaranteed, so actual call-off demand may differ from published values.
Value interpretation
98% confidencePublished financial ceiling or commitment is unclear
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The award value is £870,000 while the tender-level value is £100,000; the notice does not explain the difference.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier identity
99% confidenceUnverified supplier name
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DWF is marked checked_unmatched after a completed Companies House matching workflow; no verified company name or company number is supplied.
Value inconsistency
99% confidenceUnresolved discrepancy between £870,000 award value and £100,000 tender value
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The award record states £870,000, while the tender value states £100,000; no explanation is supplied.
Lot allocation
97% confidenceNo structured lot allocation supplied
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The description references Lot 1 of RM6360, but lot IDs and structured lot records are absent.
Commercial detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice
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No bid count, bidder identities, scoring, pricing breakdown, evaluation rationale, or extension terms are provided.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The supplier name DWF is unverified: the completed Companies House matching workflow found no safe company match, and no verified legal company name or number is supplied.
- The source contains an unresolved value discrepancy: £870,000 in the award record versus £100,000 in the tender record.
- No structured lot allocation is supplied; the source description references Lot 1 of RM6360 only.
- Information on bid numbers, competing suppliers, scores, award rationale, price breakdown, and extension or renewal terms was not supplied in the published notice.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Home OfficeManston Inquirylegal servicesRM6360DWFframework call-offparalegal supportsolicitor support
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who was named as supplier for the Manston Inquiry legal support award?
The award names DWF. This is an unverified source name because the completed Companies House matching workflow found no safe match.
What is the published value of the award?
The award record states £870,000. The tender record separately states £100,000, and the notice does not explain the discrepancy.
When does the stated contract period end?
The published contract period ends on 31 July 2028.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.