Clarifications
There are 211 clarifications for this DPS
227. I am aware that it is mandatory for suppliers to have either a valid Cyber Essentials Basic or Cyber Essentials Plus certificate to become an appointed supplier on RM6219 and RM6348. However, according to the answer to Clarification Q53 on RM6348, a supplier can go through the application process without yet having a Cyber Essentials certificate, but a supplier can only be appointed once CCS received proof that a supplier holds a valid certificate.
Could you please confirm whether a supplier can go through the application process for RM6219 as well (in full) without yet having a Cyber Essentials certificate, but a supplier can only be appointed once CCS received proof that a supplier holds a valid certificate; I ask this because it appears to me that in RM6219, the suppliers would not be able to complete the application process unless and until they confirm that they already hold a Cyber Essentials certificate.
You may be interested to know that D&B quoted about £250 annual fee for a report to find out the D&B score of our company; instead of paying £250 to D&B, I would rather assume that the score is below 50, in which case your team will assess if our company can still be appointed. For small companies (with only two employees) who do not know their Dun & Bradstreet score as they never needed to take out a bank loan, the cost of about £400 for a Cyber Essentials certificate is considerable, but acceptable if they can at least go through the application process that concerns our economic and financial standing, first.
It is mandatory for suppliers to have either a valid Cyber Essentials Basic or Cyber Essentials Plus certificate to become an appointed supplier on the DPS for RM62198. A supplier can go through the application process without yet having a Cyber Essentials certificate, but a supplier can only be appointed once CCS has received proof that a supplier holds a valid certificate.
All supplier organisations who wish to submit a DPS submission must hold and provide their valid DUNS number. You can get a free DUNS number from the Dun & Bradstreet website.
Answered
09/04/2025 15:43
226. I am a 1- person business and understood that this would exempt the business from requiring Employer Liability Insurance of £5m. Please can you confirm whether this is correct.
The business does have the required Personal Indemnity and Public Liability cover.
All suppliers are required to meet the minimum requirement of the below insurances in order to become appointed on RM6219;
o Employer's liability insurance of £5,000,000
o Public liability insurance of £1,000,000
o Professional indemnity insurance of £1,000,000
Additionally, a supplier may decide to employ someone at any time, therefore every supplier needs to have Employer's liability insurance in place.
Answered
01/04/2025 16:23
225. Good afternoon,
Please could you clarify the below:
1. Will we be able to upload the completed Attachment 1f RM6219 DPS - Standard Off The Shelf (SOTS) pricing matrix v1.0? Should this be provided now, or following appointment to the DPS?
2. With regards to Attachment 1f RM6219 DPS - Standard Off The Shelf (SOTS) pricing matrix v1.0 . Is it possible to duplicate the 'Standard OTS Training' tab to ensure that discounts for Face to Face Training, and discounts for Virtual-instructor led training can be differentiated?
Kind regards
Business Development Team
1. Once you have submitted your initial application and once it's approved, your application status will change to 'Qualified'. This is when you are able to upload your completed pricing matrix, ready for customers to see it when you become appointed onto RM6219. Once you are an appointed supplier to the Learning and Training Services DPS you can update your answers, pricing, and contact details, as it is important to keep your service offerings up to date.
2. You would include all training on the same tab, using a separate row for different types of training. For example, you could put a certain face to face course on one row, and the same course delivered virtually on the next row with the relevant details changed.
Answered
26/03/2025 14:53
224. In the evidence section, we're being asked to submit our last 2 years of audited accounts, but we don't have audited accounts. Can we submit the unaudited accounts we have for the last 2 years instead?
We can accept your unaudited accounts for the past 2 years.
Answered
26/03/2025 14:54
223. RM6219 - Question 21 asks if you intend to use subcontractors. We don't use subcontractors and tend to use freelance trainers who we have worked with for many years. Would it be safe to say this question does not apply to me.
RM6219 - DPS Joint Schedule 1 - Definitions v1.0 states the definition of "Subcontractor" is "any person other than the Supplier, who is a party to a Sub-Contract and the servants or agents of that person". Therefore, freelancers would be classed as subcontractors if they are any person other than the supplier delivering the contract. You could include the key subcontractors you are likely to use in application, and update at a later date if your supply chain changes.
Answered
27/02/2025 14:28
222. I am interested in the delivery of learning services. My work tends to be with the FCDO or Ministry of Defence. Do the services have to be delivered in the UK or can the services be delivered in support of UK effect in another country.
The Specification and Notices of the DPS does not reference any permutation or reference to 'international or overseas delivery'. However, if the contract was based / delivered in the UK and was training delivered to upskill UK efforts in a country outside of the UK this would be permissible, i.e. language training for personnel who were going to be deployed to another country.
Answered
10/02/2025 15:49
221. Good morning,
In response to Q63, it was said that a supplier could answer N/A if they do not have a company registration number. However, this answer is now 'invalid' as it does not fit the 8-digit requirement. Can we answer 00000000 for this (as we do not have a company registration number), or should we enter an alternative registration number, e.g., DUNS or UKPRN?
Many thanks
Please input 00000000 if you do not have a company registration number in order to submit a response.
Answered
14/01/2025 11:16
220. Can you please clarify the Management Levy? Where the Supplier will pay, excluding VAT, 1 % of all the Charges for the Deliverables invoiced to the Buyer under all Order Contracts. Can you confirm that this is a condition of joining the framework? Would we have to price our services accordingly to cover this when completing the pricing matrix for services? Thank you.
Please refer to DPS Schedule 5 - Management Levy and Information v.10 in the bid pack, as all suppliers are contractually obliged to complete an accurate Management Information (MI) report to CCS on a monthly basis once any training programme has commenced.
As part of Core terms 1.1 'A Supplier invoice is only valid if it:
c) does not include any Management Levy (the Supplier must not charge the Buyer in any way for the Management Levy). Therefore, suppliers cannot factor in the 1% levy into your pricing matrix as the payment is a management fee to be apart of the agreement.
Answered
08/01/2025 09:21
219. Hi there, in question 156 on this clarifications list it states that ISO27001 is an acceptable alternative to cyber essentials and to upload the ISO certificate in place of that. The supplier that asked that question is also listed as approved so i assume it was accepted.
However, I have uploaded our ISO certification given the above, and received an email stating that it's not accepted and you need Cyber Essentials.
Please can you clarify which is correct?
We only accept Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus at present. PPN 09/23 was published in September 2023 and updated in October 2023 and is the governing PPN in this area. CQ 156 was asked prior to the PPN's publication and answered on 05/05/2023. Guidance from the PPN which specifically relates to this is at Q9 of PPN 02/23: 'The ISO27001 standard is widely used but companies that attain this standard will not automatically conform to Cyber Essentials. This is because it is not usual for all of the five technical controls in Cyber Essentials to be included in the scope for ISO27001 implementation. It is also unlikely that any of these controls will be tested for ISO27001. Therefore most businesses with ISO27001 will have to adopt Cyber Essentials in addition to ISO27001 or demonstrate equivalent controls are in place.' Therefore, the guidance quoted in CQ 156 is outdated and I have asked the team to update this to be accurate as of the current time. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Answered
08/01/2025 11:10
218. Hi,
I hope you are well! For off the shelf courses, how tailored can they be to a specific purchasing organisation or would this be discouraged?
If it is encouraged, where would be best to contain this information in the provided template?
Kind regards,
Ben
The courses should be ready-to-go for a buying organisation to access the training, with no tailoring required after the course is purchased. There's a range of learning categories that training can sit under. Developing off the shelf courses that are aimed at certain organisations, such as the NHS, is fine.
Answered
19/12/2024 14:23
217. Could you clarify the distinction between the "Relevant Experience" and "Past Performance" sections in Part 3 of the Selection Questionnaire? Specifically, should the same contract examples be used for both sections, or are they intended to demonstrate different aspects of our organisation's capabilities and performance?
These questions are not applicable for the RM6219 Learning and Training Services DPS. A response is not required to Part 3: (Steel) Q147 - Q149, and Part 3: (Past Performance) Q150 - 154.
Answered
27/11/2024 17:07
216. In Section 4, the application form requires a UK postcode and does not allow progression with an international address. Similarly, in Question 16, I am unable to proceed without entering a UK postcode for the Person of Significant Control (PSC) section. As our organisation is headquartered in the United States but also has a UK address, could you clarify whether we are required to use a UK postcode for these sections, or if there is an alternative process for international applicants?
The Selection Questionnaire will not accept non-UK postcodes. Please enter M4 6JA as a workaround, and a member from our DPS Team will be in contact once you have submitted your application to confirm your postcode.
Answered
27/11/2024 17:06
215. 2. Please confirm that your organisation including sub-contractors, have an Equality and Diversity Policy that complies with current legislative requirements.
Do you need this posted on our company's website? Do you have a template or instructions for the same?
It is not a requirement of the application for suppliers to publish their equality and diversity policy, but suppliers and should have this in place and ensure subcontractors do also. Here is the government guidance around the Equality Act 2010: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance
Answered
25/11/2024 12:43
214. For Bespoke Training is there a separate pricing matrix to complete?
Not as part of the DPS application. There is only a pricing matrix to complete for off-the-shelf courses. Bespoke training is priced by suppliers based on a customer's requirements as part of a call-off competition.
Answered
05/11/2024 12:35
213. Could you please provide more clarity re point 48 of the 'READ FIRST - RM6348 DPS Needs', namely whether the supplier the CCS has contracted to assess our FVRA will store the data securely and keep the data confidential? For convenience, here is point 48 of the document:
48. CCS has contracted with a supplier to support CCS with its assessment of the Selection Criteria related to bidders' financial status (in accordance with the Selection Stage of this procurement). Consequently, we may share with our supplier bidders' responses to the selection questionnaire in respect of the bidders' financial status.
The RM6219 Learning and Training Services DPS does not have an FVRA process in place. The RM6348 Adult Skills and Learning DPS does have an FVRA process in place. CCS and our contracted service provider are required to keep supplier financial information confidential. Further guidance on RM6348 can be found under the Adult Skills and Learning DPS section.
Answered
23/10/2024 16:07
212. When the Generic Prospectus asks for the 'Appointed Date' (after the DUNS number and before the registered company address), is this the date the organisation was founded or the date is was registered, or is it to do with the DUNS number?
Thank you.
The 'Appointed Date' is the date you are appointed onto the DPS agreement. This should be auto populated by the system when a buyer runs a supplier shortlist, so you should be able to leave this blank.
Answered
11/10/2024 16:03
211. Re Q133 how do you define 'contract'? I am a sole trader, when I do work I write and agreement with related costings, however it has no legal terminology. Can I use these agreements as my example contracts?
As per the RM6219 How To Apply document, questions 147-149 and 150-154 do not need to be answered.
Answered
26/09/2024 15:09
210. Re question 129 - what is the minimum level of economic and financial standing for RM6219?
This DPS has a minimum level of economic and financial standing determined by the score which the credit reference agency - Dun & Bradstreet. For RM6219, a D&B score of 50 or higher is required. HOWEVER, if your score is lower than 50, our team will ask for additional information to assess if you can still be appointed on a case-by-case basis.
Answered
26/09/2024 15:08
209. Is there a minimum or maximum amount for a procurement under the DPS RM6219?
There is no minimum or maximum spend for a call off contract under RM6219. There is a maximum spend on the whole DPS that is currently set at £300m, which CCS monitor.
Answered
25/09/2024 09:27
208. Hello, we are looking to apply on behalf of a consortium with our organisation as the lead for that application. If a future contract opportunity arises where we feel that another member of the consortium would be better to act as lead, are we able to change those arrangements at that point, or if we apply as lead now, do we have to then lead every future bid/contract?
Suppliers can work together with other legal entities to form a Consortium. If you do, we ask the Consortium to choose a lead member who will submit the bid on behalf of the Consortium and you will have to identify what each of the parties is contributing to the bid. You can do this in Your Request to Participate. We recognise that arrangements in relation to Subcontracting and Consortiums may be subject to future change, and may not be finalised until a later date. However, any changes to those arrangements may affect your ability to deliver the RM6219 - Learning and Training Services requirements. You must therefore tell us about any changes to the proposed Subcontracting or to the Consortium. If you do not, you may be excluded from participating in this competition.
Answered
25/09/2024 09:25
