Clarifications
There are 134 clarifications for this DPS
36. Could you confirm, regarding questions 155-156 on page 129 of the SQ document, whether all subcontractors are required to have Cyber Essentials certification, or if this requirement only applies to the Prime Contractor?
CCS can confirm that Questions 155-156 on the Selection Questionnaire relates to the Supplier having Cyber Essentials accreditation, however all Suppliers must also answer question 15 on the DPS section of the Selection Questionnaire which asks if all proposed sub-contractors also have Cyber Essentials certification on or before the execution of the first contract. This is a Pass or Fail question and therefore all proposed sub-contractors must meet the Cyber Essentials accreditation requirement for your application to be successful.
Answered
12/04/2019 15:36
35. A lot of our assignments prevent us from disclosing the customer organisation to third parties. We may therefore have to complete the Customer organisation section of the Attachment 8 anonymously. Please confirm this is acceptable.
CCS can confirm that Attachment 8 is the Order Form that will be used between you as the Supplier and the Customer organisation who appoints you through further competition. Therefore this document is a confidential agreement between the Supplier and the Customer organisation following the award of a contract.
Answered
16/04/2019 09:49
32. Please can you confirm if there is only one contract example required and if it needs to encompass radical innovation or disruptive innovation?
As per Attachment READ FIRST RM6094 DPS Needs V1.PDF Quality Assessment - Technical & Professional capability (Q133) of the Standard Selection Questionnaire and Question 48 to 50 of the Dynamic
Purchasing Questionnaire (DPSQ):
31. You are required to provide one (1) contract example in accordance with the response guidance provided in Attachment 7 - Response Guidance for Contract Example which form part of RM6094 Spark DPS bid pack.
Answered
08/04/2019 11:38
31. Please advise what the deadline is for submitting questionaires
"CCS confirm that suppliers can request to participate for the RM6094 SPARK DPS at any point during the lifetime of the DPS, there is no deadline for submissions as detailed in the DPS Needs document of the RM6094 bid pack. The opportunity remains open at all times unless the DPS expires or is terminated in accordance with the DPS Agreement.
With effect from 15/04/2019, customers will have access to the DPS to use to conduct call for competitions based on their individual project requirements."
Answered
08/04/2019 11:47
30. We are having difficulty completing the online SQ for RM6094 DSP Spark Framework:
127 Are you able to provide a copy of your audited accounts for the last two years, if requested?
- As a small company our accounts are exempt from audit so we have to answer No.
We think you intended that if the answer is No, we should drop down to question 128, as the documents it asks for down seem necessary if you have audited accounts. But you havent indicated this on the questionnaire.
128. Please indicate which of the following you can provide (3 options)
- We could provide all 3 options, but as the evidence section of the SQ immediately asks for documents to be uploaded if we tick a box, we would prefer not to have to furnish all the documents required if we did so. Are these meant to be exclusive options and in descending order? i.e 'if no, then drop down to the next'?
130. Are you able to provide parent company accounts if requested at a later stage?
- Saying yes to this leads to an immediate requirement to "Upload documentary evidence for parent company accounts" - not "at a later stage" - very misleading. Can we leave this unsubmitted until requested at a later stage?
131. Would the parent company be willing to provide a guarantee if necessary?
- Again, saying Yes to this leads to an immediate requirement to "Upload documentary evidence for parent company guarantee". But this hasn't been necessary in the 15 years we have been working with CCS frameworks! Can we also leave this unsubmitted until requested at a later stage?
132. Would you be able to obtain a guarantee elsewhere (e.g. from a bank)?
- Surely this is redundant if we answered Yes to 131
In the light of your response, we may need to modify some of our submitted responses. But there does not appear to be a route for us to do so. Selecting the 'Start Selection Questionnaire' link and clicking "Yes, I want to re-use an existing Selection Questionnaire" does not bring up the responses we gave in our original submission.
Q127 - CCS confirms we require a full set of accounts to do our assessment therefore although as a small company your ccounts are exempt from audit they will need to be audited as part of your submission.
Q128 - If you can provide the first option A statement of the turnover, Profit and Loss Account/Income Statement, Balance Sheet/Statement of Financial Positon and Statement of Cash Flow for the most recent
year of trading for your organisation - this would be the preferred option but if not then option two and then option 3.
Q130 - Yes if required evidence can be requested at a later stage.
Q131 - Yes if required evidence can be requested at a later stage.
Q132 - If you are able to submit a guarantee through your parent company then you could not require to obtain a guarantee, however if the information you provide fails then a guarantee maybe required.
Answered
08/04/2019 14:20
29. Within the Dynamic Purchasing System Agreement, page 23/24 section 25.4 competitive terms, point 25.4.1 and within Appendix 6 - DPS Schedule 4 - Order Form and Contract Terms, page 51 section 29.5 competitive terms, point 29.5.1, we would like to modify the clause to protect the level of security of the products and services we could deliver under this contract and therefore we propose the highlighted addition to the terms:
If the Customer is able to obtain from any Sub-Contractor or any other third party more favourable commercial terms with respect to the supply of any materials, equipment, software, goods or services used by the Supplier or the Supplier Personnel in the supply of the Goods and/or Services **without compromising security**, then the Customer may:
This would for example protect the delivery of the service where an item of critical IT hardware is procured from a supplier that manufactures goods in secure locations/countries over a supplier that does not.
The substitute goods should be able to perform the same function without detriment to the delivery of services/ outcomes, part of this would be the security of the goods, at present this is implicit rather than explicit but we will factor this into our guidance for customers.
In relation to the terms we do not believe that suggested amendments are necessary but they would not constitute a material change if a customer and supplier wished to clarify things further at call-off."
Answered
08/04/2019 15:35
28. Once appointed to the SPARK DPS will suppliers have the ability to add/update Subject Area and Delivery Method as new products become available?
Yes - the supplier will be able to update their responses to the filter questions in the DPS selection questionnaire to reflect changes in capability.
Answered
08/04/2019 13:36
27. Will this be a suitable route to market for providers offering security related technology products and services?
Please see the User Needs document and Attachment 1 which explain the security products within scope of this agreement, products outside of the described scope cannot be offered.
Answered
08/04/2019 13:34
26. We have registered with the SRS. From our Dashboard, we can locate the Standard SQ with 160+ questions, but not the DPSQ. How can we locate the DPSQ questions?
It appears that you still have a couple of questions left to complete on the standard selection questionnaire.
Once you have completed all of the questions you should be presented with text stating that your selection questionnaire is complete and you can click 'complete and exit' to save the selection questionnaire. You should then be presented with the DPS SQ part of the selection questionnaire.
Answered
27/03/2019 09:13
25. Who is the category lead?
Peter Kirwan and Rob Whitehead are the leads during the set-up and go live phases of the DPS.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:25
24. Do buyers still need to complete a Procurement Regulations compliant competition?
Customers will need to complete a call-off in line with process described in Schedule 5 of the DPS Agreement.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:24
23. Is there a requirement to bid once on the framework? e.g a minim amount of bids?
There is no KPI or other clause linked to suppliers bidding on opportunities.
We are aware that some suppliers may have very niche capabilities and this would present them with problems.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:24
22. Is a parent company guarantee required?
Depending on the outcome of the financial assessment a parent company guarantee might be requested.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:23
21. When will the pin be released?
The contract notice has been published.
No associated PIN was published.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:22
20. Do suppliers have to have any certification or be on any associations?
Suppliers are required to meet all mandatory requirements including standards as set out in the Customer Needs document which forms part of the bid pack. Supplier are also required to fulfil the Cyber Certification obligations as detailed in the Selection Questionnaire and DPS Agreement (Clause 9).
Answered
25/03/2019 14:21
19. Will customers requirements be openly published like in DOS?
Customers need to invite all suppliers identified via their filter selection.
All customers should also publish opportunites and contract details via ContractsFinder where appropriate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0716-legal-requirement-to-publish-on-contracts-finder
The DPS does not use the Digital Marketplace for the call-off process but that may change in future.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:20
18. Do you need one contract example for Radical Innovation and one for Disruptive?
No, you need one example for either, not both.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:20
17. Will all parties on the DPS be invited to bid for call-offs?
All suppliers idenfitied through a customers filter selection will be invited to participate initally.
The customer may use a multi-stage process to further refine the supplier list prior to a final tender.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:19
16. Is this for products only or a mix of product and services?
The focus is the technology and services needed to support the technology / create the outcome using the technology. We would not expect to see any managed service like arrangements.
Answered
25/03/2019 14:18
15. Will the slides be available?
We will publish slides and the Q&A.
Unfortunately CCS's website is in the process of being migrated so it is likely to be early April before we can post the deck online
Answered
25/03/2019 14:18
