A contract award notice tells the market that a buyer intends to enter into a contract with a named supplier. It is published before the contract is signed, not after.
Where it appears in the Act. Section 50 says that before entering into a public contract a buyer must publish a contract award notice. Where the contract is awarded after a competitive tendering procedure, the buyer must first give an assessment summary to each supplier that submitted an assessed tender. gov.uk’s guidance says the notice can only be published after those summaries have been issued.
For most contracts, publication of the notice starts the standstill period of at least eight working days (section 51). It does not apply to framework call-offs, dynamic market contracts, light touch contracts or some direct awards (s.51(3); standstill guidance para 37). Once the contract is signed, the buyer publishes a contract details notice. gov.uk says that notice replaces the award notices that were published under the earlier legislation.
What it means for a small supplier. If you lost, this notice is your signal that the clock is running. Check your assessment summary straight away and decide quickly whether to ask questions or take advice about a challenge. If you are researching the market, award notices show who won what, at what value, which helps you judge whether a buyer is worth bidding to.
Next: how tenders are evaluated.