Awarding Contracts in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The United Kingdom has transposed Directive‭ ‬2004/18‭ ‬with minimal alterations in general and in particular in relation to the rules surrounding award criteria.‭ ‬In the United Kingdom,‭ ‬most economically advantageous tender award criteria is used in around‭ ‬90%‭ ‬of tenders,‭ ‬with the lowest price limited to a residual relevance.‭ ‬Procurement practice varies across the different home nations‭ (‬England,‭ ‬Scotland,‭ ‬Wales and Northern Ireland‭) ‬due to slightly different legal systems and local preferences.‭ ‬This split is particularly visible in horizontal policies such as the use of social criteria or the negotiation of social clauses with contractors.‭ ‬Evidence has been found of use of prior experience as an award criteria,‭ ‬pointing to possible inconsistencies with‭ ‬Lianakis.‭ ‬Although the number of procurement cases is low in the United Kingdom,‭ ‬conflicting case law has been identified regarding abnormally low tenders and award criteria disclosure.

Keywords: public procurement, public contracts, award criteria, UK, United Kingdom, England, Wales, Lianakis, Court of Justice