Clarifications

We can confirm that a response to Q137 is not required.

Suppliers may choose to respond to individual competitions under the DPS.

Special Condition 9 stands as drafted as 14.8 refers to an indemnity that the Supplier must give.

The definition of a Key Subcontractor is in Joint Schedule 1. In general terms, we would expect you to provide details of those that are integral to the delivery of products and services and are linked to the performance of your contracts. At DPS level, this tends to be those suppliers that you would not be able to substitute for another if they failed to deliver. At the Order stage, you may feel that the requirements of the customer means that there is a Key Subcontractor within your supply chain for that specific contract. This information can be detailed in the Order Form and you can use a NDA to keep the information confidential prior to contract award if necessary.

Suppliers are asked to confirm that they hold Cyber Essentials at the point that they submit their application to join the DPS and must provide certification details. We regret that it is not possible for a supplier to join the DPS on the basis that they will gain the Cyber Essentials certification in the future. CCS will accept ISO27001 as an alternative to Cyber Essentials and a Supplier may answer Yes to Q155 and provide the relevant details relating to their certification if they hold this ISO.

The Assessing stage usually lasts up to 15 days, if CCS is required to carry out further enquiries then this may take up slightly longer than the 15 days but notice and information will be given

Accounts would only be requested if your organisation did not meet the required financial threshold (D&B failure score). In this event, a letter would be accepted alongside your accounts.

The CCS Authorised Representative is a representative from CCS, not your organisation.

If when leaving these questions blank, the system is producting an error message. Please enter N/A. If you are not a relevant commercial organisation as defined by section 54 ("Transparency in supply chains etc.") of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 "the Act" please select No to question 138. Whilst CCS cannot guarantee any business through our agreements, where appropriate we expect suppliers to support applicable Government policies. Therefore if you can support apprenticeship where appropriate please respond accordingly. A response stating No would not prevent you being appointed to the DPS. Therefore Q177 & 178 can remain blank.

It is correct that clarification questions on the selection questionnaire can be asked via both the DPS marketplace and the DPS mailbox. To clarify your initial question on the CCS authorised representative, I refer you to page 4 of the DPS Needs which states "When we use "CCS", "we", "us" or "our" we mean Crown Commercial Service". The CCS authorised representative will be an individual from Crown Commercial Service and not from your organisation.

We can confirm that all applications are assessed on their individual merit, whether as an individual supplier or as part of another arrangement.

As this is a DPS, suppliers can register to join at any time.

The 3 roles are various contacts for CCS to engage with. DPS Agreement Manager - initial contact point with CCS Commercial Manager relating to DPS agreement. DPS Lead - point of escalation for issues that cannot be resolved by DPS Agreement Manager. CCS Authorised Representative - Commercial Manager within CCS.

It is important that you access the SRS system via this link https://supplierregistration.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/dps#fmandproperty and click Access as a Supplier. If you enter the SRS any other way, the system will not link you to the DPSQ for VCIS. When accessing the system via the instructions above, it should link any SQ that you have already completed to your account. If you have followed the instructions above and are still having problems accessing the DPSQ, please contact the software provider NQC via the Contact Us link at the bottom of the above webpage.

Suppliers should note that for the VCIS DPS, Schedule 3 will not be used and should be disregarded. Suppliers will be required to submit pricing relating to a Buyer's specific requirements as part of their competition.

Yes, this would be acceptable. However, a Buyer may request more detailed information from Suppliers as part of their competition.

Suppliers are required to have Cyber Essentials to be appointed to the agreement. Subcontractors who provide facilities or services necessary for the provision of the Deliverables (or any part of them) are potentially subject to this requirement. However, DPS Schedule 9 - Cyber Essentials Schemes states that subcontractors shall only need to demonstrate similar levels of compliance to the Cyber Essentials Scheme where they process sensitive and personal information belonging to the Buyer. Suppliers will need to decide whether their subcontractors process these types of data when deciding whether this provision applies.

Suppliers should note that for the VCIS DPS, Schedule 3 will not be used and should be disregarded. Suppliers will be required to submit pricing relating to a Buyer's specific requirements as part of their competition.

Please refer to paragraph 69-71 of the DPS Needs document. Cyber Essentials Scheme Basic Certificate (or equivalent) is required for this DPS, as detailed in DPS Schedule 9 and the DPSQ. Please refer to questions 5, 6 and 7 of the DPSQ.

We can confirm that you are not required to submit your pricing at this stage. Suppliers will be required to submit pricing relating to a Buyer's specific requirements as part of their competition.