Procurement in a Nutshell: Bouygues challenges DfE over lost place on £15.4bn framework
13th March, 2026
Procurement in a Nutshell
13th March 2026
Procurement in a Nutshell: Bouygues challenges DfE over lost place on £15.4bn framework
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Another legal challenge under the new Procurement Act 2023 has arisen. Construction news and other sources are reporting that the Department for Education (DfE) is subject to proceedings in respect of its recent Construction Framework 25.
It has been reported that Bouygues are taking DfE to court after alleged evaluation errors narrowly led them to losing a place on a £15.4b framework.
The Challenge
The contractor missed out on one of the 10 places on Lot 2 of the six-year Construction Framework 25 after Bouygues scored 0.13 percentage points lower than its nearest rival, McLaren. Bouygues ranked 11th place with a score of 74.67 out of 100 and McLaren in 10th with a mark of 74.8.
Bouygues are making the following allegations:
- There appeared to be ‘multiple manifest errors’ in the evaluation process
- DfE’s assessment involved factual misunderstandings, inconsistent marking and unjustified downgrading during moderation
- Bouygues accuses the evaluators of incorrectly marking down several of its responses, including those relating to nature-based solutions, building fabric detailing, technology integration and social value commitments
- DfE demonstrated a lack of transparency for failing to provide adequate explanations for the conclusions it reached
- Unequal treatment, claiming that comparable features in competing bids were not marked down in the same way
- On two occasions Bouygues’ scores were reduced during the moderation without an adequate explanation
The article states that: “It is averred that, but for these manifest errors and other breaches, the claimant’s bid response would or should have been awarded a higher score than that of McLaren and the claimant would or should then have been awarded a framework contract”.
Conclusion
It appears Bouygues are calling for the decision to be cancelled and for it to either be reassessed or for the DfE to extend the framework to 11 positions so that it is included. They are also seeking damages for the loss of profit due to being unable to secure work under the framework, and for recovery of its bid-preparation costs and interest.
The DfE are said to have told Bouygues its application was out of time, but the contractor refutes this, according to the Particular of Claim filed with the court.
To read the Construction News Article, please click here.
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