PA2023 - first court case through: Parking Eye v Velindre University NHS Trust

 This is actually a bit faster than I expected, but there is a good reason for it.

I thought with the general backlog of court cases we might not get anything through until 2027 (which is a problem!).  However this case (ParkingEye Ltd v Velinder University NHS Trust & Anor [2026] EWHC 1019 (TCC)) rather needed to be resolved quickly as it involved a request to lift automatic suspension after a challenge.  

So, there is a lot of legal commentary around this (which is worth following up) but the basis is that ParkingEye were the incumbent who lost and challenged the decision during standstill - which automatically triggers suspension of contract award.  The Trust appealed this, claiming that delay would have significant costs and damages would be an adequate resolution if it was found that there was a problem.  This was the old American Cynamid test, which is very familiar to old public procurement lags.

BUT the court has decided that lifting suspension is not appropriate given the 3 matters it has to consider;

 1.The public interest, including (among other things) upholding the principle that public contracts should be awarded in accordance with the law and avoiding delay in the supply of goods, services or works.

2.The interests of suppliers, including whether damages are an adequate remedy for the claimant. 

3. Any other matters that the Court considers appropriate.

Now it appears that the court thinks that damages are an appropriate remedy, but has still decided not to lift suspension.  Which puts a great emphasis on the Trust to resolve this quickly in order to finally enter into the required contract.  

Now, ParkingEye (the people who run car parks) were also involved in one of my least favourite court cases (ParkingEye Vs Beavis) which determined that parking charges were not penalties (I still think that they are... but legally they are not). So their name is going to be bandied around a lot more.  The effect should be to emphasise the need to get the procurement right first time, as the old approach of entering contract and paying damages later if necessary is not going to be quite as likely to work.

All in all, not a bad principle I think.

(note: the fact that the Trust is in Wales does not appear to be a factor in this case, but remember there are various specific elements of the PA2023 that differ from England in NI and Wales).

Parkingeye Limited v Velindre University NHS Trust & Anor

Neutral Citation Number[2026] EWHC 1019 (TCC)