On 24 February 2025, The Construction Leadership Council published its public sector procurement guidance on potential solutions to common evaluation issues faced by clients in the built environment sector (available on the CLC website).
Trowers & Hamlins are pleased to have worked alongside key stakeholders across the sector (comprising clients, industry and consultants) to develop this useful guidance focusing on ten common evaluation issues facing the built environment sector in the course of public procurement.
As set out in the guidance, the evaluation stage is the most important stage of a public procurement procedure. It is when successful bidders are selected, and when the Client makes the decision as to which bid most closely matches its requirements. The key stage of the procurement process sets the tone and direction of the ensuing contractual and delivery relationship, and making the wrong decision at this stage can make it unlikely that the Client’s aspirations and delivery requirements will be delivered.
Notwithstanding the importance of the evaluation stage, it is often the most difficult part of the procurement procedure to get right, and often where Client’s encounter issues in the selection of their delivery partners. Additionally, given the relatively wide margin of discretion that Clients have to select the evaluation criteria, weightings and scoring rules, there is a significant disparity in practice, and significant differences exist across the sector in terms of how Clients evaluate tenders (including in the setting of criteria and weightings, the composition of the evaluation panel, and the scoring methodologies themselves).
The guidance explores ten issues that are common across the public sector experience, and seeks to set out best practice, offering practical and detailed advice around key aspects of the evaluation stage, including preliminary market engagement, evaluation methodology and ensuring that contractors deliver.
The launch of the Guidance coincides with the “go live” date of the Procurement Act 2023 and has been drafted with the new legislation in mind, as well as to ensure alignment to the most recent iteration of the Construction Playbook.
Over £385 billion was spent on public procurement in 2022 - 2023 and as we enter the new legislative landscape of the Procurement Act 2023, now more than ever is an opportune moment to examine those common pitfalls that affect the evaluation stage, and seek to implement the best practice set out in this guidance to harness the immense purchasing power of the public sector.
Rebecca Rees and Stuart Brown have been actively involved in drafting the guidance alongside industry experts, and would be delighted to talk more about incorporating the best practice suggestions into procurement procedures under the Procurement Act 2023.
Rebecca Rees hosted a webinar on this topic alongside the key contributors from the publication, the recording for this webinar can be viewed below.
