Award and standstill process under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015

Yes, provided that you respect Regulation 55(1)(b) which provides that a contracting authority shall, as soon as possible after the decision has been made, inform any bidder that submitted an offer of its decision to abandon or to recommence a contract award procedure in respect of which a contract notice has been published. It is good practice to make it clear in procurement documents that the contracting authority reserves the right not to award any contracts as a result of the procurement process, and that the contracting authority will not be liable for any of the bidders' costs in submitting a bid.

Only if the use of lots was anticipated by the FTS notice and the proposed award is consistent with the procurement documentation. Where a maximum number of lots to be awarded per bidder has been set, the procurement documents must set out objective and non-discriminatory criteria for determining how lots will be awarded where the result of the evaluation means that one bidder would otherwise be awarded more than the maximum permitted number of lots (see Regulation 46(5)). It is also possible to reserve the right in the procurement documents to combine lots, if more than one lot may be awarded to the same tenderer (see Regulation 46(6)).

The letters must include:

1. the award criteria
2. the name of the successful bidder(s)
3. the score of the recipient,
4. the score of the successful bidder(s),
5. details of the reason for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the successful tender;
6. and confirmation of the date before which the contracting authority will not enter into the contract or framework agreement (ie, the date after the end of the standstill period). See Regulation 86.

Probably not, as you will need to inform each bidder of the advantages of the winner relative to their own tender. This is likely to mean that each letter needs to be drafted individually.

It depends on whether those unsuccessful bidders have already been given the reasons why they were unsuccessful. If a bidder who dropped out earlier or was excluded earlier has, by the time the award decision notices are sent, still not been informed of the reasons why they were unsuccessful, you will be obliged to send them an award decision notice.

Yes. Staggering the sending of award notification letters is likely to be a breach of the principle of equal treatment. Also, the standstill period will not commence until all relevant letters have been despatched.

The first day is the day following despatch of all of the award notification letters. The last day is the day before the contract is entered into and must also be a working day. 

The standstill period should be at least ten days. Where award notification letters are not sent electronically, the standstill period is extended by five days (or less where the contracting authority can prove delivery of the award notification letter). 

You can use our standstill period calculator to calculate the last date of a standstill period.

The obligation to hold a standstill period applies to all contracts covered by "Part 2" of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which includes over threshold light touch regime contracts.

The Cabinet Office guidance suggests that this is something of a grey area and that in cases of urgency "contracting authorities may want to weigh the urgency against the risks of proceeding without a standstill". However our view is that this is a potentially risky strategy and that a standstill period should be held for a light touch regime procurement that is over the relevant threshold (since failure to correctly run a standstill when one is required exposes the contract to the risk of a claim for a declaration of ineffectiveness). 

The "debrief" information should have been contained in the award notification letters and provided the award letters were compliant there is no obligation to provide any further debrief. However, contracting authorities may wish to consider providing additional information to bidders that request it.

The procurement Regulations do not require contracting authorities to respond to all bidder questions about the procurement process during the standstill period. However, it is generally a good idea to respond promptly to any reasonable bidder queries as this is often the easiest way to address any concerns bidders may have about the process. Some bidder questions may also be requests under the Freedom of Information Act, where the contracting authority is obliged to provide a response, and may be obliged to disclose the information.

No. There is no requirement in the legislation for a face to face debrief. However, it is often in the interests of the contracting authority to meet a bidder and listen to any concerns they may have. It is also advisable to keep a detailed record of the debrief.

There is no requirement to respond to a FOIA request during the standstill period prior to entering into the contract. However, you must comply within the time limits set out in the Freedom of Information Act.

No. It is becoming increasingly common for unsuccessful bidders to accompany requests for a debrief with FOIA requests. The usual exclusions from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act will apply, and in many cases information held in relation to a procurement will be commercially sensitive and/or confidential. Advice should be sought on the application of the relevant exemptions to information held. Whether an exemption applies may depend on when the FOIA request is made.

When the contract is awarded, you need to publish a Contract Award Notice to the Find a Tender service.