Evaluation and scoring
Most economically advantageous tender(MEAT)
Written by Justin Cesman, CEO of Skim. Last reviewed:
- Definition
- The most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) is the legacy award basis under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, requiring buyers to award on the best combination of quality and price rather than lowest price alone. The Procurement Act 2023 renames it the most advantageous tender (MAT).
Key takeaways
- MEAT is the legacy term from the Public Contracts Regulations 2015: contracts are awarded on the best balance of quality and price, not the lowest price.
- Under the Procurement Act 2023, in force from 24 February 2025, MEAT becomes MAT — the most advantageous tender — with the word 'economic' deliberately dropped.
- Dropping 'economic' removes any implication that price must always be weighted, freeing buyers to award on quality, social value, and wider outcomes.
- In practice the evaluation mechanics are unchanged: buyers still publish weighted award criteria, an assessment methodology, and the relative importance of each criterion.
- For bidders the load-bearing fact is the weighting. A 70/30 quality-to-price split means a technically strong, higher-priced bid can still win.
How it works
Under both regimes the buyer scores tenders against published award criteria, each given a relative importance — usually a percentage weight. Quality criteria (technical approach, methodology, staffing, social value) and price are weighted against each other, so the winning bid is the one offering the best overall value, not the cheapest. Common weightings run from 60/40 quality-to-price up to 80/20 for complex services; some contracts hold price at a fixed figure and compete on quality alone.
The weighting is the single most important number in any tender. A 70/30 quality-to-price split rewards a strong technical narrative over a thin margin, so bidding at the lowest price sacrifices profit without buying much advantage. A price-heavy split reverses that logic. Reading the weighting before you price is what separates a calibrated bid from a guess.
The Procurement Act 2023 keeps this machinery but renames the overall basis of award. The most economically advantageous tender becomes the most advantageous tender (MAT): the tender that satisfies the buyer's requirements and best meets the award criteria when assessed by the published assessment methodology and the relative importance of each criterion. Award criteria must relate to the subject matter of the contract and be clear, measurable, and proportionate.
Dropping the word 'economic' is deliberate. Government guidance states the focus for awarding contracts does not have to be the lowest price, and that price need not always be weighted higher than non-price factors. The same guidance is clear this is not a substantive policy change — MEAT already permitted quality-led and quality-only evaluation — but the new wording removes the lingering assumption that price must dominate.
MEAT vs MAT: how the award basis changed
| Feature | MEAT (legacy) | MAT (current) |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Most economically advantageous tender | Most advantageous tender |
| Governing rules | Public Contracts Regulations 2015 | Procurement Act 2023 |
| Applies to procurements started | Before 24 February 2025 | On or after 24 February 2025 |
| The word 'economic' | Present in the statutory test | Deliberately removed |
| Must price be weighted? | Framed around price or cost (quality-only permitted) | No — price need not always be a factor |
| How tenders are scored | Weighted award criteria and methodology | Weighted award criteria, methodology, relative importance |
| Effect for bidders | Best quality-to-price balance wins | Same mechanics; clearer licence for quality-led award |
Under the Procurement Act 2023
Reviewed
Which term applies depends on when the procurement started. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 govern procurements started before 24 February 2025, where Regulation 67 requires award on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). The Procurement Act 2023, in force from 24 February 2025, governs procurements started on or after that date and renames the basis of award the most advantageous tender (MAT) — section 19 defines it as the tender that best satisfies the award criteria. Government guidance confirms the deletion of 'economic' is to reinforce that price need not always take precedence over non-price factors, and that it is not a substantive change to how award criteria are set or tenders assessed.
Sources: Procurement Act 2023, section 19 (legislation.gov.uk) · GOV.UK e-learning — Module 7: Assessment and award of contracts · Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Regulation 67 (legislation.gov.uk)
Why it matters for bidders
Whether the notice says MEAT or MAT, price alone does not decide who wins — and that is what lets an SME beat a larger, cheaper supplier on quality, innovation, and social value. The rename to most advantageous tender removes the lingering excuse that price must dominate, giving evaluators clearer licence to reward quality, so reading the published weighting before you price is more decisive than ever. The signal sits in the award data: from published award notices you can see which weightings real buyers in your sector apply and which suppliers win under them, so you calibrate to the commercial reality, not the brochure. That award-data discipline, drawn from teams who have won £3bn+ in UK and EU public contracts, is what turns a strong bid into a winning one.
How Skim helps
Skim's Bid Analysis agent identifies the award basis for each opportunity — MEAT or the current MAT — and surfaces the quality-to-price weighting so you can calibrate your bid: invest in the quality narrative when it is weighted highly, or sharpen pricing when it matters more. Its Competitor Analysis agent models which weightings buyers in your sector actually apply, drawn from published award data.
Frequently asked questions
- What does MEAT stand for in procurement?
- MEAT stands for the most economically advantageous tender. It is the legacy basis of award under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, requiring public buyers to award contracts on the best combination of quality and price, not simply the lowest price.
- What is the difference between MEAT and MAT?
- MEAT, the most economically advantageous tender, was the award basis under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. MAT, the most advantageous tender, replaces it under the Procurement Act 2023. The word 'economic' is dropped to remove any implication that price must always be weighted.
- Has MEAT been abolished under the Procurement Act 2023?
- Effectively yes, in name. For procurements started on or after 24 February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 replaces the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) with the most advantageous tender (MAT). MEAT still applies to procurements started under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 before that date.
- Does the move from MEAT to MAT change how bids are evaluated?
- Not in practice. Government guidance states the change is not substantive: buyers still publish weighted award criteria, an assessment methodology, and the relative importance of each criterion. Dropping 'economic' simply clarifies that price need not always be weighted above non-price factors such as quality and social value.
- Does MAT mean price no longer matters in tenders?
- No. MAT, the most advantageous tender, means price need not always be a weighted factor and must not automatically dominate. Most contracts still weight price alongside quality. The change gives buyers clearer licence to award on quality, social value, and wider outcomes where that represents the best value.
Sources
Related terms
Evaluation criteria
Evaluation criteria, called award criteria under the Procurement Act 2023, are the factors and weightings a buyer publishes to score tenders — covering quality, methodology, staff, price and social value — and decide the most advantageous tender. Criteria must relate to the subject-matter of the contract.
Quality score
A quality score is the mark a public sector evaluator awards to the non-price (technical) elements of a tender, assessed against published award criteria — usually on a 0–5 or 0–10 scale with written descriptors — and often weighted at 40–70% of the total evaluation.
Social value
Social value is the wider economic, social, and environmental benefit a supplier's delivery of a UK public contract generates beyond the goods or services bought — local jobs, skills, carbon reduction, community impact. Central government must score it at a minimum 10% weighting of the total evaluation.
Mini-competition
A mini-competition is a focused tender run among the suppliers already appointed to a multi-supplier framework agreement or dynamic market, inviting all eligible members of the relevant lot to bid for a specific call-off contract using the evaluation criteria and rules pre-set by the framework.