The distinction between selection and award criteria is crucially important. Selection criteria are focused on "the bidder" and award criteria are focused on "the bid”. The Procurement Officer must maintain a clear distinction between both throughout the procurement process. This means that issues/questions which are appropriate to the selection criteria must be addressed at the selection stage and cannot form part of the award stage (even if they were omitted from the selection stage in error) and vice versa.  However, you can apply different aspects at selection and award if relevant i.e. you can look at the bidder's general staffing in selection, and the qualifications and experience of those to be assigned to the contract at award if that is relevant.

Although the selection and award criteria must be developed and managed quite separately, it is possible for Procurement Officers to conduct these stages simultaneously or in any order where the procedure allows.  For instance, when using an Open Procedure it may be desirable to assess the tenders (award stage) prior to checking minimum criteria are met when only a small number of bids have been received.  Where this is done you must still ensure that you verify the absence of grounds for exclusion and of fulfilment of the selection criteria.  This needs to be carried out in an impartial and transparent manner so that no contract is awarded to a bidder that should have been excluded or does not meet the selection criteria.

Example areas that are commonly known as "selection" and "award" criteria are listed in the table below:

Organisations are required by law to include such conditions relating to the performance of the contract as are reasonably necessary to ensure that the bidder which is awarded the contract complies with environmental, social and employment law in performing the contract, providing that these are linked to the subject matter of the contract, and are indicated in the call for competition or the procurement documents.  To help meet this requirement, organisations should consider the Scottish Procurement Policy Note 09/2016 which includes guidance and contract conditions an organisation can adapt for use in its contracts.  If specific performance conditions are to be used they must be included in the Prior Information Notice (where it is the call for competition) or the Contract Notice and in the Procurement Documents.

Bidders may be requested to state, in their tender or request to participate, the names and professional qualifications of the staff involved in the performance of the contract.

A clearly documented process must be followed throughout the award stage, as for the whole of the procurement process, in order to ensure there are no inconsistencies in the procurement process, which could ultimately result in a legal challenge.

You may consider variants on the requirements as long as it has been specified in the Procurement Documents, together with the minimum requirements and how the variant will be evaluated. Variants cannot be considered unless this has been done and they meet the minimum requirements. All variant bids should be evaluated using the same criteria as the standard bids and compared on a like-for-like basis.

An organisation should also consider whether to allow potential service providers to set out options in relation to different TUPE scenarios within its tenders. If so, it should provide clear directions to tenderers to ensure that bids can be compared on a like-for-like basis.

As with all aspects of the procurement process, such decisions and actions must be made in line with your own organisation’s governance procedures and in any event, be in line with any stated intentions that were advertised in the relevant Procurement Documents.

Organisations are required by law to publish details of the criteria to be used to identify the supplier to whom the contract will be awarded. The Contract Notice (or the Prior Information Notice when it is used as a means of calling for competition, in so far as already known) must provide a brief description of criteria to be used for award of the contract. 

An Organisation must also specify in the relevant Procurement Documents the relative weighting which it will give to each of the criteria chosen to determine the most economically advantageous tender.  The weighting and score given to an award criterion should be considered on a case-by-case basis taking into account the other relevant criteria and the relative impact that each will have on the quality of the service delivery, works performed or goods supplied.  Weighting must ensure the appropriate balance between the quality and cost / price of the contract and be proportionate to the contract, taking care not to negatively affect the quality of the contract to be performed. It is best practice that respective weightings are agreed by the UIG before the Contract Notice (or Prior Information Notice if used as a ‘call for competition’ if a sub-central organisation) is published and any documentation issued. If there is any doubt as to the level of detail that must be disclosed/published, you should seek specialist professional procurement or legal advice and guidance. A sub-central Organisation is any Organisation which does not belong to Central Government or National Health Services.

The agreed and advertised award criteria and weightings must not be changed once they have been notified to the tenderers.

If your contract will require sub-contractors (and sub-sub contractors) you should evaluate at award stage how bidders will ensure payment of these sub-contractors throughout yourat all stages of the supply chain.  Payment should be made within the standard 30 day payment terms and bidders should communicate how this will be managed.

All public bodies advertising requirements which may require the use of sub-contractors should adopt the statement:

Prompt Payment Award Statement

Confirmation that you will include the standard clause in all contracts used in the delivery of the requirements, ensuring payment of sub-contractors at all stages of the supply chain within 30 days,  include a point of contact for sub-contractors to refer to in the case of payment difficulties and provide evidence and reports to the contracting authority on a regular basis.

If a bidder is unable to confirm acceptance of the award statement, they should not be awarded the contract unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Please note: the content of this page is currently undergoing a review. For further information on the real Living Wage please see the What is the real Living Wage information sheet, the Scottish Government’s Fair Work and Procurement webpage or alternatively please email scottishprocurement@gov.scot.

Please note that information on Fair Work First, which includes payment of the real Living Wage, can be found in SPPN 06/2021.

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Fair Work practices can have a positive impact on the way the contract is performed and the weighting given to a Fair Work criterion will affect a supplier’s overall bid.

A question on Fair Work practices, including the real Living Wage, should be adapted on a case-by-case basis to be relevant to and reflect the nature of the contract and will invite suppliers to describe the fair Work practices, including the real Living Wage they propose to adopt to engage their workers in order to have a positive impact on the quality of the service delivery, works performed or goods supplied. 

The Practical Tool – Developing a Fair Work criterion and the Example – Fair Work invitation to tender criterion – home support services, will help a Procurement Officer to target Fair Work practices, and adapt and appropriately weight a Fair Work award criterion which takes account of all five dimensions of the Fair Work Framework.

A Fair Work award criterion should not be a list or checklist as this would not be consistent with the Principles of Procurement.  It is also important not to limit responses from bidders, which will vary dependant on different Fair Work practices they adopt and because of the size or status of bidders.

The weighting of a Fair Work criterion may be higher in a contract where the way workers are engaged will have a direct impact on how the contract is performed or where there is a strong service or works element to the contract. Higher weightings may also be relevant, for example: where low pay and poor conditions of employment exist or can have an impact on the quality of the contract, such as the use of umbrella companies to exploit workers’ security of employment; where the availability or continuity of staff will impact on a services; where there is limited, or no access to trade unions; or, where a limited employee voice is having an impact on how health and safety matters are handled or how working time regulations are applied.

The weighting of a Fair Work criterion in a goods contract is likely to be lower, as the quality of the goods is more likely to be affected by a range of factors other than how the workforce are engaged. This is not to say that a Fair Work criterion is never relevant in a goods contract. It will be relevant where the goods to be supplied are created by manual labour or where an element of the workforce delivers the goods and / or ancillary services, such as customer service or installation / delivery services.

Award criteria can also relate to the supply or use of ethically or fairly traded products. Criteria and conditions relating to trading and its conditions can refer to the fact that the product concerned is of fair trade origin, including requirements to pay a minimum price and price premium to producers. Furthermore, environmental considerations can include the delivery, packaging and disposal of products and when looking at contracts with a service element, this can refer to waste minimisation or resource efficiency.  It is important to note however, that this excludes criteria and conditions relating to a bidder’s general corporate social responsibility policy.

Additional guidance on award criteria can be found in C&SS Award Criteria Guidance document.

In accordance with regulation 76(9) of The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, an organisation may now also take account of some other issues when procuring these services including:

• the quality of the service;
• the continuity of the service;
• the affordability of the service;
• the availability and comprehensiveness of the service;
• the accessibility of the service;
• the needs of different types of service users;
• the involvement of service users; and
• innovation.

This is not an exhaustive list and there may be other considerations that an organisation may also take account of and which are relevant on a case-by-case basis.