HMCTS Video Hearings Service

This Notice is issued by the Lord Chancellor acting as part of the Crown (the "Authority").

This service will be provided for the benefit of, and managed by, His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) an executive agency of the Authority.

The Authority intends to appoint a supplier to provide a video conferencing facility (referred to as the 'video engine') and develop an interface with a 'front end' application already developed by HMCTS - to form a Video Hearings Service ("VHS").

The supplier will be required to host and manage the video engine and the interface, provide hosting for test and development environments, and manage and provide an 0800-telephone service for users accessing the service by telephone.

VHS is HMCTS' strategic platform for remote hearings and it is intended to substantially replace the use of other video conferencing systems in the judicial environment.

VHS is currently used on a relatively small scale and the intention is to enhance the existing service and roll it out across the judicial estate.

The capability to enable remote hearings, irrespective of platform, was a significant component of HMCTS's Covid response and ongoing recovery. Conducting remote hearings is now an integral part of daily business and the benefits are widely acknowledged.

The procurement will be managed via the Ministry of Justice eSourcing system. If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Portal, this can be done online at https://ministryofjusticecommercial.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html Interested suppliers must be registered on this site and will need to complete and sign an Ethical Wall Agreement and a Confidentiality Agreement to access the procurement documents. Once the Ethical Wall Agreement and the Confidentiality Agreement is completed and signed the Authority will invite the interested supplier, provided it is registered on the above site, to access the procurement. The Ethical Wall Agreement and Confidentiality Agreement can be obtained by sending an email to vhprocurement@justice.gov.uk

The Authority intends to hold an information event to provide interested suppliers with an overview of the invitation to tender documentation. This will be held an on-line event and will take place on 26 May 2023, time TBC. To attend this event interested suppliers must have returned the Ethical Wall Agreement and the Confidentiality Agreement. Slides/Q&A from the event will be made available to interested suppliers, (after completing an Ethical Wall Agreement and the Confidentiality Agreement), should they not attend the event on that day. Further details in relation to the event will be provided once this documentation is returned.

Following the return of a completed Ethical Wall Agreement and Confidentiality Agreement, provided they are registered on the Ministry of Justice e-sourcing system, potential bidders will be able to access the Procurement Process Documents.

Additional information: n/a