Quality Threshold

The minimum quality score a tender must achieve to be considered for award, typically set as a percentage or absolute score before price evaluation begins.

How it works

A quality threshold establishes the minimum acceptable standard for the technical or qualitative aspects of a tender submission. Contracting authorities set this threshold during procurement planning, typically expressed as a percentage (e.g. 60% of maximum quality points) or absolute score (e.g. 42 out of 70 points).

Tenders failing to meet this threshold are automatically excluded from further evaluation, regardless of their price competitiveness. This ensures that only suppliers demonstrating adequate capability, experience, or technical compliance proceed to the final scoring stage where quality and price are weighted together.

Why it matters

Quality thresholds protect public bodies from accepting inadequate solutions purely on cost grounds. They ensure that essential requirements around service delivery, technical specifications, or risk management are non-negotiable, maintaining service standards for citizens and stakeholders.

The threshold must be proportionate to contract requirements and clearly communicated in tender documents. Setting it too high may limit competition unnecessarily, whilst too low may admit unsuitable suppliers. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 require that evaluation criteria be transparent and proportionate to the contract's subject matter.

Legal compliance

Thresholds must be objective, measurable, and directly related to contract performance. They cannot be used to artificially restrict competition or favour particular suppliers. Documentation should clearly explain how threshold scores translate to acceptable performance levels, ensuring transparency and enabling meaningful supplier self-assessment before submission.