Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust & Anor v Lancashire County Council

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust & Anor v Lancashire County Council

The Council's failure to provide sufficient and transparent reasons for the scores awarded in the quality evaluation constituted a material breach of procurement law, rendering the award decision unlawful and requiring it to be set aside.

Parties
Claimant: Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust; Claimant: Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Defendant: Lancashire County Council
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
22 June 2018
Procedural Posture
Judgment / Expedited Trial on Liability and Causation (not Remedies)
Outcome
Claim allowed in part; contract award decision set aside.
Legal Topics
Transparency in Procurement, Evaluation Criteria, Sufficiency of Reasons, Manifest Error, Equal Treatment of Bidders
Public Procurement Administrative Law Transparency in Procurement Evaluation Criteria Sufficiency of Reasons Manifest Error Equal Treatment of Bidders

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Parties

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust

Claimant

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Claimant

Lancashire County Council

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Judgment / Expedited Trial on Liability and Causation (not Remedies)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the reasons given by the Defendant for the scores awarded to the Claimants and Virgin for the quality evaluation questions were sufficient in law
  2. 2 Whether the Defendant applied or departed from the stated award criteria and/or evaluation methodology
  3. 3 Whether the Defendant made manifest errors or breached procurement law principles in the evaluation of tenders

Ratio Decidendi

The Council's failure to provide sufficient and transparent reasons for the scores awarded in the quality evaluation constituted a material breach of procurement law, rendering the award decision unlawful and requiring it to be set aside.

Court Disposition

Claim allowed in part; contract award decision set aside.

Orders

  • The decision of Lancashire County Council to award the contract to Virgin Care Services Limited is set aside.
  • No order made on remedies pending further hearing.