Court gives guidance on scope of disclosure in proceedings brought under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006

Disputes about public contract award procedures in the UK are becoming more common. If a dispute arises, a contracting authority may be required to disclose to the challenging bidder a very wide range of documents about how bids were treated or evaluated and how the procurement was conducted, and these documents might include information in competing bids that other bidders might regard as commercially sensitive. A Court in the UK has now confirmed the limited scope of public interest immunity in relation to such disclosure requirements.