Online Legal Research Subscription / Online Legal Library for Local Authority Legal Services

What this is

Carmarthenshire County Council is conducting preliminary market engagement for an online legal research subscription and digital legal library service to support its in-house Legal Services team. The Council seeks a secure, cloud-based platform providing comprehensive access to UK and devolved legislation, case law, legal commentary, precedents, and AI-assisted search capabilities, with particular emphasis on Wales-specific legal content.

Key points

• This is a market engagement notice only — not a formal tender. The Council is gathering information and has not committed to proceeding with procurement.
• Deadline for registering interest and requesting information: 30 September 2026.
• Estimated contract value: GBP 155,000 (ex VAT) for a 3-year term (18 Jan 2027 – 17 Jan 2030) with optional extensions to 17 January 2032.
• Critical requirement: Wales-specific legal content in devolved areas (education, housing, social care, local government, environmental law), not English-centric coverage.
• Desired platform features: cloud-based, secure, AI-assisted legal search, natural language searching, document analysis, alerts, remote access, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and training support.
• Contact: Hayley Davies (HaLDavies@carmarthenshire.gov.uk) for further information and to register interest.

Who can bid

This is a market engagement notice (not a formal tender). Interested organisations are invited to register interest and request further information. No formal eligibility criteria are specified as this is preliminary engagement only.

Money

Estimated value: GBP 155,000 (excluding VAT) / GBP 186,000 (including VAT). This is preliminary market engagement; no formal financial commitments are made at this stage.

Contract period

Estimated contract period: 18 January 2027 to 17 January 2030 (3 years), with extension options available until 17 January 2032 (total 5 years with extensions).

Classification

CPV 79980000 — Subscription services 48160000 — Library software package48300000 — Document creation, drawing, imaging, scheduling and productivity software package79130000 — Legal documentation and certification services WalesSouth West Wales (UKL14)