From Suppliers Manual
Once the buyer has announced who it intends to award the contract to, a “standstill period” will follow. This is to ensure that businesses applying for tenders can have feedback and the score of the awarded contractor in order to be able to challenge the decision and ensure the tendering process was done fairly and correctly. This standstill rule ensures that all suppliers, whether successful or unsuccessful, should be advised of who was awarded the contract and must de-brief the unsuccessful candidates within 15 days of a suppliers request to do so.
The mandatory standstill period is 10 days, which gives an opportunity for communication between the buyers and all the suppliers to de-brief and conclude the contract. It is legally required that the information to the unsuccessful suppliers must include; award criteria, the name of the winning supplier and good characteristics that the successful tender displayed.
This feedback is especially useful for businesses as it helps them to improve their process for future tenders they apply for.
This period makes sure there are guidelines for the amount of time taken for the supplier to request feedback and to receive response, giving the opportunity to take the case to high court if considered unfair.
If an unsuccessful supplier wishes to take the decision to court within this period then the contract cannot be concluded until the court outcome.
