The construction company has issued a High Court challenge to the Department for Education (DfE), claiming they had lost a place on the latest framework due to incompetency
Bouygues is suing DfE, claiming that the department failed to accurately score in the moderation process for a new schools framework worth £15bn.
10 places were available on the framework, and Bouygues placed 11th with a score of 74.67, just behind McLaren Construction with 74.8 – a difference on 0.13%.
Bouygues claim the score was botched
Due to the miniscule difference between them and the winner, the firm is claiming that they have been denied access to a high-value pipeline that would cover at least half a decade, and that the coin-flip nature of the score (if they had scored one step more or if McLaren had scored one step less), this may have been intentional at worst or incompetency at best.
The claim also asserts that minor issues were overstated in Bouygues case, with similar issues in other competitors being let off more lightly. All of this leads to, Bouygues claims, an inconsistent and inaccurate report.
The claim is asking to be set a place on the framework or to claim damages for lost opportunity, and financial compensations for bid costs and lost profit.
The framework has been a year in the making
Announced in March last year, and set to replace a similar framework, the DfE’s framework in question is valued at £15.4bn. It will support the construction of new schools, colleges, university buildings, and public buildings related to education.
The 10 lots on the framework include:
- Lot 1: North – Valued at over £12m, this lot covers educational buildings with a gross internal floor area (GIFA) of 2,500m2 or more, and has 10 places covering the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, and West Midlands.
- Lot 2: South – The same value, places, and GIFA as Lot 1, but covering the East of England, London, South East, and South West.
- Lot 3: North East – Valued at £4.4m-£12m, and with a GIFA up 2,500m2, this lot has 7 places covering the North East.
- Lot 4: Yorkshire and The Humber – Same value, GIFA, and places as Lot 3, covering Yorkshire and The Humber.
- Lot 5: East Midlands – Same value, GIFA, and places as Lot 3, covering the East Midlands
- Lot 6: East of England – Same value, GIFA, and places as Lot 3, covering the East of England
- Lot 7: London – Same value, GIFA, and places as Lot 3, covering London
- Lot 8: South East – Same value, GIFA, and places as Lot 3, covering the South East
- Lot 9: South West – Same value, GIFA, and places as Lot 3, covering the South West
- Lot 10: North West and West Midlands – Same value, GIFA, and places as Lot 3, covering the North West and West Midlands.
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