Our popular 5 in 25 series of webinars take place every couple of months and have covered the whole arc of a procurement process, from pre-procurement, through choice of procedure and advertisement, to selection, evaluation, award, challenges and operating the contract.
In our June 2023 webinar, Shailee Howard (Principal Associate), Victoria Armitage (Senior Associate) and Jenny Beresford-Jones (Senior Legal Advisor) consider “5 Cases in 25”, analysing recent procurement law cases and drawing out five lessons learned:
Lesson 1: Taking an average score in place of a proper moderation process is a breach of the procurement rules, as is awarding scores other than in accordance with the scoring matrix in the evaluation methodology (Bromcom Computers v United Learning Trust [2022])
Lesson 2: Evaluators need to ensure they fully understand the detail of the tenderer’s bid, otherwise the evaluation may be open to challenge on the grounds of manifest error (Braceurself v NHS England [2022])
Lesson 3: Direct awards under a framework agreement must be made in compliance with the equal treatment principle, otherwise they are exposed to a claim for a declaration of ineffectiveness (Consultant Connect v NHS Bath and NE Somerset [2022])
Lesson 4: Persuading a court to lift an automatic suspension remains a high bar for claimants to get over (Camelot Lotteries v the Gambling Commission [2022])
Lesson 5: Where an authority incorrectly relies on an exemption in order not to run a fully regulated process, the limitation period may start to run relatively late in the process rather than on day one (Excession Technologies v Police Digital Department [2022])
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