Definition
Equal Treatment
The duty to treat all suppliers the same in comparable situations.
Equal treatment is a fundamental principle of UK public procurement requiring buyers to treat all bidders fairly and consistently, without favouring one supplier over another for reasons unrelated to the published evaluation criteria. It underpins most successful procurement challenges where a supplier believes the process was not run fairly.
What equal treatment requires in practice
Buyers must apply the same evaluation criteria, timelines and clarification process to every bidder, avoid giving one supplier information or opportunities not offered to others, and evaluate consistently across all submissions using the same evaluators' understanding of the criteria wherever possible.
It does not mean treating every bidder identically regardless of their proposal; genuine differences in quality, price or approach can and should lead to different scores. The principle is about procedural fairness, not guaranteeing equal outcomes.
- Same criteria and weightings applied to every bidder
- Consistent clarification process open to all bidders
- No informal advantage given to an incumbent or favoured supplier
- Evaluators applying a shared, documented understanding of scoring standards
Common breaches suppliers encounter
Typical complaints involve a buyer answering one bidder's clarification question more fully than others', changing requirements informally for a preferred supplier, or applying different standards when scoring similar answers from different bidders. Keeping detailed records of your own submission and any communications helps if you need to challenge later.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the equal treatment principle in procurement?
- It is the requirement that public buyers treat all bidders consistently and fairly throughout a tender process, applying the same rules, criteria and information to everyone, so that no supplier gains an unfair advantage unrelated to the genuine merit of their bid.
- Can a buyer give one bidder more information than another?
- No, not without breaching equal treatment. Any clarification or additional information given to one bidder during a live procurement should generally be shared with all bidders to keep the competition fair, unless it is genuinely specific and irrelevant to others.
- How do I prove a breach of equal treatment?
- You typically need evidence such as inconsistent scoring for comparable answers, records of information shared unevenly, or a documented departure from published criteria. A detailed debrief request is usually the first step before deciding whether to pursue a formal challenge.
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