ClosedBusiness services

National Witness Service - Grant Competition[E16]

London, United KingdomMinistry of Justice[E1]

In plain English

What they want: Please see below Additional information: The Witness Service (WS) has been available in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 2003. The core purpose of the Service is to meet emotional and practical needs of witnesses, 44% of whom are also victims (2023/24), and support them to give their best evidence. In 2023/24, the current WS supported approximately 80,000 witnesses.
Who can bid: No restrictions are stated in the notice data. The tender documents may set more.
Deadline: Buyer's deadline: 27 Jan 2025, 23:59 UTC. UTC: 27 Jan 2025, 23:59 UTC.
Published 26 Nov 2024.
Value: GBP 56,758,261
Buyer: Ministry of JusticeSee what else this buyer buys and when.
How to apply: Through the buyer's official process. Open the original notice on UK Contracts Finder (OCDS) (opens in a new tab) ↗
Tender documents: The tender documents for this notice are on the buyer's own portal, usually behind a free supplier registration. We link to them and do not fetch them, so the report is based on the notice only.

This opportunity is closed and its deadline has passed. Reports are not available for it.

Deadline[E4]: 27 Jan 2025, 23:59 UTC
Value[E17]: GBP 56,758,261
Published[E14]: 26 Nov 2024
Procedure[E13]: Open procedure (above threshold)
Source: UK Contracts Finder (OCDS) (opens in a new tab)
Last checked: 6 hours ago

About the requirement

From the notice

Please see below Additional information: The Witness Service (WS) has been available in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 2003. The core purpose of the Service is to meet emotional and practical needs of witnesses, 44% of whom are also victims (2023/24), and support them to give their best evidence. In 2023/24, the current WS supported approximately 80,000 witnesses. Of these, about 28,000 were classified as vulnerable or intimidated. The key elements of the support offered by the current Service are: - To provide information to witnesses about their rights and the process of giving evidence, including the role they play in the Criminal Justice System; - To arrange and conduct pre-trial visits to court buildings (PTVs), helping witnesses to familiarise themselves with the court building and calm anxieties ahead of the day of giving evidence; - Greet witnesses on the day in Court, acting as a generally supportive presence and supporting HMCTS staff in guiding witnesses through court buildings (including the use of separate entrances and waiting rooms for witnesses) and relaying messages to witnesses from the court room. For most witnesses, this is the extent of the support they receive - with approximately 2 in 3 witnesses supported by the Witness Service receiving only support on-the-day with no prior referral. A third of witnesses need additional support, including those who are vulnerable and/or intimidated, and are typically referred to the Witness Service in advance of trial by police-run Witness Care Units. Additional support for vulnerable …[E5]

Eligibility and requirements

ConditionDelivery location: British Oversea Territories.[E8]
ConditionDelivery location: Channel Islands.[E9]
ConditionDelivery location: Europe.[E10]
ConditionDelivery location: Isle of Man.[E6]
ConditionDelivery location: Rest of the World.[E11]
ConditionDelivery location: United Kingdom.[E7]
The notice data states no restriction on who may bid. Exclusion grounds and selection criteria in the tender documents still apply.

Risks and unknowns

UnknownWe read the published notice, not the full tender documents.

Updates

First seen · 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC
The deadline (2025-01-27T23:59:00.000Z) has passed.
Source document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917

Evidence

17 facts

Every fact on this page comes from the published notice. Each entry shows the document and the field it was read from.

E1
The buyer is Ministry of Justice.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /buyer/name, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E2
The notice is classified under CPV 79140000 (Legal advisory and information services).
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/classification/id, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E3
Contracts Finder publishes United Kingdom procurement.
“England”
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E4
Tenders must be submitted by 27 Jan 2025, 23:59 UTC.
“2025-01-27T23:59:00Z”
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/tenderPeriod/endDate, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E5
The buyer describes the requirement in the notice.
“Please see below Additional information: The Witness Service (WS) has been available in all Criminal Courts in England and Wales since 2003. The core purpose of the Service is to meet emotional and practical needs of witnesses, 44% of whom are also victims (2023/24), and support…”
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/description, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E6
Delivery location: Isle of Man.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/4, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E7
Delivery location: United Kingdom.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/6, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E8
Delivery location: British Oversea Territories.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/1, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E9
Delivery location: Channel Islands.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/2, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E10
Delivery location: Europe.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/3, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E11
Delivery location: Rest of the World.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/5, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E12
This is a call for competition. Suppliers can respond.
“tender”
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tag, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E13
The procedure is: Open procedure (above threshold).
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/procurementMethodDetails, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E14
The notice was published on 26 Nov 2024.
“2024-11-26T16:31:09Z”
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/documents/0/datePublished, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E15
Contracts Finder gives the tender status as active.
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/status, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E16
The notice is titled "National Witness Service - Grant Competition".
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/title, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E17
The stated value is GBP 56,758,261.
“56758261 GBP”
Document 89d0104b-ae6b-46db-aa1a-9c8a6270d0b9-805917, field /tender/value/amount, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)

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