Framework Standstill Period Running: Next Steps | Glaxtons

Glaxtons Consulting

You were not appointed to a framework and the standstill period is running

If a contracting authority has sent you an assessment summary, the standstill period is the window in which a challenge can still stop the award from being signed. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it runs for at least eight working days from the date summaries are sent. That is days, not weeks. We read your summary against your submission and the published criteria and give you the scoring analysis a procurement solicitor needs, usually in 24 to 48 hours.

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The honest bit

Most unsuccessful bidders should not challenge. A lower score than you hoped for is not a ground by itself. The grounds that matter are factual errors, criteria applied that were not published and inconsistent treatment between bidders. We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice. What we do is produce the analysis quickly enough for a solicitor to give you a view before the standstill ends, and then help you aim at the next opportunity.

What we need to start today

Your assessment summary and the award decision notice, with the date standstill ends
Your original submission as it was uploaded
The tender documents: instructions, evaluation methodology and question wording
A named person who can answer questions today
The solicitor's details if you already have one

When we will tell you not to bid

These are the things that make the situation undeliverable rather than merely tight. If any of them apply we will say so on the first call, before you spend anything.

A standstill period that has already ended and a framework agreement already signed
A score gap that is judgement rather than error, which is not a ground for challenge
No copy of what you actually submitted
No time to instruct a solicitor before the window closes

Questions people ask at this point

How long is a standstill period?

At least eight working days under the Procurement Act 2023, counted from the date assessment summaries are sent. Your summary states the date yours ends.

Can Glaxtons challenge the decision for me?

No. We are not a law firm. We review your summary and submission and prepare the scoring analysis for a procurement solicitor, normally in 24 to 48 hours.

Is it worth challenging?

Often not. The more useful question is where you lost marks and whether the gap is fixable for the next round. We will give you a straight view on that on the first call.

Tell us the deadline and we will tell you if it is doable

We respond the same day. Send the documents and the deadline and you will get a straight answer on whether it is deliverable, including if the answer is no. A bid you were never going to win costs more than the fee it would have earned.

Send us the deadline

Framework standstill running. Tell us the closing date and what you have, and we will come back the same day with whether it is deliverable.