London Borough of Tower Hamlets abandoned a competitive procurement for domiciliary care services in November 2024 (in part because of legal challenges) and then in March 2025 made direct awards to five incumbent providers (including the claimant, Apasen) on grounds of extreme and unavoidable urgency. Three hours after publishing a transparency notice explaining the urgency, the Council published a contract award notice that made no mention of the urgency justification whatsoever. The Council then reversed course in June 2025, excluding Apasen from the direct awards while proceeding with the other four. Apasen issued a claim, seeking an order from the Court that the contracts with the other four providers be set aside. The Council applied to strike out the set aside claim, which failed.
Key messages:
- For a direct award, the urgency justification must be substantively correct.
- Include the urgency direct award justification in the contract award notice (not just the transparency notice).
- Do not let your own conduct create the urgency.
- Maintain a clear audit trail of decisions and reasons.