Source: https://tendernation.io/glossary/assessment-summary Glossary # Assessment summary The written feedback a buyer must give every assessed bidder before announcing the winner, showing your scores and the winning tender's scores. Updated 14 Oct 2026 An assessment summary is the feedback a buyer must send to every supplier whose tender was assessed in a competitive procurement. It explains how your tender was scored and, if you did not win, how the most advantageous tender was scored too. ## What it means Under [section 50(3) of the Procurement Act 2023](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/section/50), a buyer must provide an assessment summary to each supplier that submitted an assessed tender before it publishes the [contract award notice](/glossary/contract-award-notice). Section 50(4) says the summary covers the buyer's assessment of your tender and, if different, the winning one. [Regulation 31 of the Procurement Regulations 2024](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/692/regulation/31/made) sets out the content. It includes the [award criteria](/glossary/award-criteria) and their relative importance, the score given to each criterion and the reasons for those scores. The government's [guidance on assessment summaries](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents-procure-phase/guidance-assessment-summaries-html) explains how buyers should write them. It does a similar job to the "standstill letter" that bidders received under the previous rules. ## Why it matters for SMEs For a small supplier, an assessment summary is free coaching from the person who just marked your work. You can see exactly where you dropped marks against the winner, question by question. It also starts the clock. The [standstill period](/glossary/standstill-period) begins when the award notice is published, so if a score looks wrong you have very little time to raise it. ## Practical tip Read the summary the day it arrives. Put your scores and the winner's side by side, and for every gap ask: was it evidence, specificity or relevance to the question? Keep these comparisons in one file. After three or four bids, the pattern of where you lose marks becomes obvious, and that is what you fix in your next [tender response](/guides/how-to-write-a-tender). Find tenders that fit your business Search UK, EU and World Bank tenders in one place, get AI summaries and a fit score for each one, and track bids in a pipeline. Professional comes with a 14-day free trial, no card needed. [Browse live tenders](/opportunities)[Start free trial ](/register) 14-day free trial, no card required Browse by sector - [Construction work](https://tendernation.io/sectors/construction-work)324 - [Architecture, engineering & surveying](https://tendernation.io/sectors/architecture-engineering-surveying)115 - [IT services](https://tendernation.io/sectors/it-services)48 - [Business services](https://tendernation.io/sectors/business-services)161 - [Health and social work](https://tendernation.io/sectors/health-social-work)249 - [Sewage, refuse, cleaning & environmental](https://tendernation.io/sectors/sewage-refuse-cleaning-environmental)73 [All sectors ](/sectors) ## Nearby terms [Award criteriaThe published factors, such as quality, price and social value, that a buyer uses to score tenders and pick the most advantageous one.](https://tendernation.io/glossary/award-criteria)[Below-threshold contractA public contract worth less than the relevant procurement threshold, covered by lighter rules in Part 6 of the Procurement Act 2023.](https://tendernation.io/glossary/below-threshold-contract)[Call-off contractA contract awarded to a supplier under an existing framework, either directly or after a further competition between framework suppliers.](https://tendernation.io/glossary/call-off-contract)[Carbon Reduction Plan (PPN 006)A published plan confirming a supplier's commitment to net zero by 2050 and reporting its emissions, required for major central government contracts.](https://tendernation.io/glossary/carbon-reduction-plan)[Central Digital PlatformThe government's online system, run through Find a Tender, where buyers publish Procurement Act notices and suppliers register their details once.](https://tendernation.io/glossary/central-digital-platform)[Clarification questionsQuestions a bidder sends the buyer during a tender to resolve ambiguity, with answers usually shared with every bidder.](https://tendernation.io/glossary/clarification-questions) [Read our procurement guides ](/guides)