The standstill period under the Procurement Act 2023 should not be treated as a pause between evaluation and signature. For local authorities, it is an active and legally sensitive stage of the procurement process that begins when the contract award notice is published, where the mandatory standstill applies.
This is an important shift from the habits many teams developed under the previous rules. Councils now need to think much more carefully about what happens in the period after publication and before contract entry. If that stage is poorly managed, the authority can create avoidable challenge risk, delay mobilisation and weaken confidence in the award decision.
What standstill is designed to do
Standstill gives suppliers time to consider the award outcome and decide whether they have grounds to challenge. It therefore sits directly alongside the contract award notice and the assessment summaries already provided to bidders.
The point of the period is not to hold up procurement unnecessarily. It is to protect transparency and fairness by allowing suppliers to review the authority’s decision before the contract is entered into.
Why this matters now
One of the continuing implementation issues under the Act is that some authorities still treat standstill as a relatively passive waiting period. In practice, it is often one of the busiest and most exposed parts of the award process.
Bidders may ask follow-up questions. Internal stakeholders may want reassurance that the process is defensible. Contract documents may still need final checks. If the authority has not planned this phase properly, the standstill period can quickly become reactive rather than controlled.
What councils should be doing during standstill
Authorities should be prepared to handle supplier questions promptly and consistently. Those questions are likely to focus on scoring, evaluation reasoning and the relative advantages of the successful tender.
Procurement and legal teams should already know how responses will be reviewed and approved. The authority should avoid making up its approach once the questions arrive.
At the same time, councils should be using standstill to make sure they are genuinely ready for contract entry at the end of the period. That includes ensuring contract documents are complete, approvals remain valid and service teams understand the likely next steps if no challenge emerges.
Common risks during standstill
A frequent problem is unclear or inconsistent responses to bidder queries. If one supplier receives a fuller explanation than another, or if the authority introduces new reasoning that was not reflected in the evaluation record, it can create additional risk.
Another issue is weak record keeping. Communications during standstill should be documented carefully. If the authority later needs to explain how it handled questions or concerns, that audit trail will matter.
A further risk is internal overconfidence. Authorities sometimes assume that once the contract award notice is published, the difficult work is over. In reality, standstill is often the period in which weaknesses in assessment summaries, moderation records or governance arrangements become visible.
What good standstill management looks like
A well-managed standstill period begins before publication, not after it. Councils should know in advance who will coordinate bidder communications, who will approve responses and how internal escalation will work if issues become more serious.
The authority should also ensure that everyone involved understands the legal effect of the standstill period where it applies. Contract entry cannot happen until the period has ended. That may sound obvious, but it needs to be reflected in operational planning, committee expectations and mobilisation timetables.
What councils should do now
Authorities should review current standstill procedures and make sure they reflect the Procurement Act position rather than legacy practice.
They should test a recent award process and ask whether the authority would have been ready to handle bidder questions, maintain consistency and move cleanly to signature at the end of standstill.
Councils looking to strengthen award-stage communication, governance and process discipline can use the Prestige Commercial Consulting support hub for practical tools and guidance.
Support with higher-risk award stages
Standstill can become particularly demanding in high-value procurements, politically sensitive projects or competitions where scoring margins are close. In those situations, councils may benefit from wider commercial or procurement support. Authorities can explore service options through the Prestige Commercial Consulting main website or make direct contact through the contact page.
The takeaway
Under the Procurement Act, standstill is not simply time passing between notice and contract. It is an active governance stage that needs preparation, consistency and clear ownership.
Councils that treat it as a controlled part of award will be better placed to manage supplier scrutiny and move to contract signature with confidence.