UK suppliers lose fear of challenging public awardschal

Challenges to UK public sector contract awards have leapt as suppliers no longer worry about losing future business, according to a senior procurement lawyer. Ruth Connorton, head of procurement law at legal firm Eversheds, said the landscape of public procurement had changed radically in the past year. “It has gone crazy,” she said. Connorton pointed to increased desperation for business, bigger contracts, the Freedom of Information Act, the government transparency initiative, and “fabulous new remedies rules.

People aren't embarrassed to challenge anymore.” She added that vendors’ former fears that a challenge would cost business in future had evaporated. “If you challenge, you are virtually guaranteed to be invited to tender because the authority is so frightened to make another mistake,” she said. David Hansom, associate at Eversheds, said that whereas the firm saw about one challenge a year to contract awards five years ago, it now receives about one a week.

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