Winston IntelligenceTender evaluation guide
Read the scoring rules before you write to them.
A public tender is evaluated through separate supplier and tender assessments: conditions of participation and award criteria assessed by a stated methodology and relative importance. Knowing the distinction stops a selection-stage score being mistaken for an award score.
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Video guide
Watch: How public tenders are evaluated
Read award criteria, assessment methodology and weightings under the Procurement Act 2023, tell conditions of participation apart from award criteria, and check social value at source.
6 min 12 sec · English (UK) captions included
The evaluation structure
Four layers, kept separate.
Conditions assess the supplier; award criteria assess the tender. An open procedure may assess them in parallel, but the results must remain separate.
- 1
Conditions of participation
A separate assessment of legal and financial capacity and technical ability under section 22 of the Procurement Act 2023. Every condition must ultimately be met before award. In a competitive flexible procedure, published objective criteria may also score these responses to create a shortlist, but that score or ranking must not carry into the award assessment.
- 2
Award criteria
The criteria the buyer scores tenders against under section 19. Section 23 requires them to relate to the subject-matter of the contract, be sufficiently clear, measurable and specific, and be a proportionate means of assessment.
- 3
Assessment methodology
The buyer must describe how tenders are assessed against each criterion, including whether failing a criterion disqualifies the tender, and any scoring matrix evaluators will use.
- 4
Relative importance
Where there is more than one criterion, the buyer must indicate importance by percentage weighting, by ranking, or by describing it another way. This is what tells you where to spend response effort.
How scoring works
What the published methodology tells you.
Every point here should be checked against the specific tender's award criteria and assessment methodology.
| Point | What to read for |
|---|---|
| Most advantageous tender | The Procurement Act 2023 uses “most advantageous tender” (MAT), replacing the older “most economically advantageous tender” (MEAT). It is the tender that best satisfies the award criteria when assessed by the stated methodology and relative importance. |
| Quality and price | A procurement may combine quality and price on a published ratio, or use price or cost as its sole criterion. Read whether price is scored by lowest-price-gets-full-marks, by a formula, or against a benchmark. |
| Pass/fail and minimum thresholds | Some criteria are pass/fail; some quality criteria carry a minimum score below which the whole tender fails. The assessment methodology states this — do not assume. |
| Assessment summaries | After award, unsuccessful suppliers receive an assessment summary showing how the buyer determined the most advantageous tender against the criteria and methodology. Use it to improve, not only to challenge. |
Social value
A live policy area — verify it per notice.
Social value can be an award criterion, but the applicable policy, weighting and model depend on the buyer, contract and start date. This section is reviewed on a short cycle because the policy is changing.
- Central government to 31 December 2026
- For covered procurements started on or after 1 October 2025, Procurement Policy Note 002 requires in-scope central government organisations to apply at least 10% of the total score, or the specified equivalent, to social value where the model is relevant and proportionate.
- Central government from 1 January 2027
- PPN 026 applies to in-scope Procurement Act procurements worth at least £1 million including VAT. It sets a minimum 10% weighting from £1 million to below £5 million and 20% at £5 million or more, subject to its relevance, proportionality and other stated scope limits.
- Wider public sector
- Councils, NHS bodies, housing associations and universities set their own social-value approach. Weightings and models vary; there is no single figure that applies everywhere.
- What to do
- Read the specific notice and its award criteria for how social value is weighted and scored on that contract, and check the current Procurement Policy Note. Do not rely on a headline percentage quoted in third-party commentary.
What Winston does here.
Scout helps you find the tender and read its published criteria. Interpreting the methodology for your organisation, planning where to win marks, and drafting or reviewing the response are not Scout features; that organisation-specific work is planned paid Winston bid-assistance and is not available yet. This guide does not estimate how often social value or any other criterion appears; check each notice.
Primary sources
Check the rules and the current policy at source.
Winston checked this legislation and official guidance on 12 October 2026. The Procurement Act 2023 regime has applied since 24 February 2025; social-value policy is changing, so this page has a short review cycle.
- legislation.gov.uk: Procurement Act 2023, section 23 (award criteria)
- Cabinet Office: conditions of participation guidance
- Cabinet Office: assessing competitive tenders guidance
- Cabinet Office: assessment summaries guidance
- Civil Service: PPN 002, taking account of social value
- Cabinet Office: PPN 026, the Social Value Model
Use the process around evaluation.
Read the PPN 026 supplier update, ask a clarification question when the methodology is unclear, or revisit the bid/no-bid checklist if the marks are not there.