‘In the recent Optima Health v DWP case, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s judgment and held that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had not exercised its discretion properly by excluding Optima from a mini competition under a framework and failing to seek clarification of perceived errors in Optima’s tender. The Court considered that DWP was obliged to seek clarification in the circumstances and that common sense is required when applying the public procurement rules to ensure a healthy and fair competition and permit the proper evaluation of the tenders. The Court warned against adopting a strict and over-literal approach which may lead to the exclusion of the best tender for no objectively justifiable reason.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th March 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
