Clarifications
There are 240 clarifications for this DPS
43. Cyber certificate from our inquiries will take up to three to six months to obtain, should a certification for an individual be sufficient for a SME in this bid. Thank you
CCS can confirm that cyber certification for an individual is NOT sufficient, and must be provided for the supplier organisation. Additionally, CCS can confirm if the supplier organisation has the required information in place to support the cyber certification process, certification can be obtained within a week at the earliest.
Please refer to the following website to obtain further information regarding cyber essentials and how to obtain appropriate certification: https://www.cyberessentials.ncsc.gov.uk/getting-certified/
Answered
29/04/2019 10:50
42. Can you confirm that the closing date for applications to this opportunity is 29th April 2023.
CCS can confirm that the DPS remains open for the lifetime of it's duration, meaning suppliers can join at anytime. The intended duration period of the RM6102 DMP Agreement is for 4 years (48 months). However the DMP will go live to customers on 30th April, therefore delay in uploading offers may result in missed opportunities.
Answered
28/04/2019 21:28
40. Dear sir/madam, in the Standard Selection Questionnaire suppliers are asked whether they will use subcontractors. As a large-scale multi-category opportunity, it may be possible to use subcontractors at a later stage. If suppliers tick no to using subcontractors in the SSQ, would this preclude the bidder from using subcontractors at future stages of procurement?
Bidders should list all known sub-contractors as defined in DPS Schedule 1 of the DMP Agreement which forms part of the RM6102 bid pack, which states 'means any person other than the Supplier who is a party to
a Sub-Contract and the servants or agents of that person'. The sub-contractors listed as part of the supplier SQ (where applicable) will for part of the suppliers 'Contract Order Form' as detailed in DPS Schedule 4, if awarded a contract under the DMP.
Bidders are able to use different sub-contractors during the lifetime of their DPS Agreement, however any changes to sub contracting arrangements are subject to the obligations under clause 18 ( Supply Chain Rights and Protection) of the Contract Terms which form part of the RM6102 bid pack.
Answered
29/04/2019 23:53
39. Good Afternoon,
In a previous CQ response you have stated that the character count for each question in the prospectus is 300, this is approximately 45 words.
Question 86 alone (coped below) is 353 characters, I would suggest it would be impossible for providers to be able to write a response to the question posed and each bullet point in enough detail to provide CCS confidence in our ability to deliver Apprenticeship Training.
Question 86
Please provide the following information about your Organisation.
• What your organisation does in the Apprenticeship Training context
• How your organisation does this, where and who for
• How you ensure high standards in apprenticeship training are delivered
• Unique Selling Point - what makes the business unique and valuable to the public sector market
It would be appreciated if you could review this requirement and consider an adjustment to the character count available to enable bidders to fully respond and provide CCS with confidence in our ability to deliver.
CCS can confirm the word count limit is 300 for all fields in the prospectuses, and not 300 characters (a previously published response has since been amended to reflect this).
- Apart from one of the text fields, in the Generic Apprenticeship / EPA Prospectus Template - where a Supplier is requested to provide following information about their Organisation:
What your organisation does in the Apprenticeship Training / EPA context
How your organisation does this, where and who for
How you ensure high standards in apprenticeship training are delivered
Unique Selling Point - what makes the business unique and valuable to the public sector market
The word count for this field is 500.
Each of the text fields have a counter for the number of words available, so you can keep track of your responses.
Answered
26/04/2019 14:32
38. Could you please confirm if the 300 character limit is correct for the narrative responses within the prospectus sections? We are conscious that this is insufficient for answering, for example, the Company Information response following Question 86 - the bullet points of which total over 270 characters in themselves. 300 characters would only provide us an opportunity to write c.50 words to cover these 4 bullet points. Similarly, 300 characters would be restrictive for the narrative responses thereafter.
CCS can confirm the word count limit is 300 for all fields in the prospectuses, (a previous response stating 300 characters has been amended).
- Apart from one of the text fields, in the Generic Apprenticeship / EPA Prospectus Template - where a Supplier is requested to provide following information about their Organisation:
What your organisation does in the Apprenticeship Training / EPA context
How your organisation does this, where and who for
How you ensure high standards in apprenticeship training are delivered
Unique Selling Point - what makes the business unique and valuable to the public sector market
The word count for this field is 500.
Answered
26/04/2019 14:30
37. Please can you confirm if we are calculating a price for the apprenticeship delivery or the whole apprenticeship, including EPA?
CCS can confirm that bidders should include the cost of the End-point Assessment in the "Cost of delivery per apprentice" fields in Attachment 5 - Pricing Matrix for Apprenticeship Training Providers.
Answered
28/04/2019 21:17
36. Good afternoon,
Can you confirm if there are any word limits/character counts for each of the questions where a narrative response is required?
Many Thanks.
CCS can confirm the word count limit is 300 for all fields in the prospectuses, and not 300 characters (a previously published response has since been amended to reflect this). - Apart from one of the text fields, in the Generic Apprenticeship / EPA Prospectus Template - where a Supplier is requested to provide following information about their Organisation: What your organisation does in the Apprenticeship Training / EPA context How your organisation does this, where and who for How you ensure high standards in apprenticeship training are delivered Unique Selling Point - what makes the business unique and valuable to the public sector market The word count for this field is 500. Each of the text fields have a counter for the number of words available, so you can keep track of your responses.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:19
35. Please could you advise the nature of the changes from v2 to v3 of the Read First document in v4 of the Bid Pack; is it just reference to the four attachments in place of the previous single attachment numbered 9?
CCS can confirm v3 of the READ First DPS Needs document has been uploaded to the bid pack, the revision made is to include references to Attachments 9a, b, c and d. All of which are PDF Information only documents detailing the generic and apprenticeship and End Point Assessment prospectuses.
Answered
25/04/2019 10:27
34. With reference to question 21 in Attachment 9, will the list be updated to reflect the current progression routes used by the Institute for Apprenticeships?
CCS can confirm Attachment 9 has now been amended in the bid pack, please refer to Attachments 9a-d as applicable. In addition, CCS can confirm all Apprenticeship Standards filters within the DMP have been update to align with IFA. Attachment 1a and 1b has been updated to relflect this with a subsequent messaged issued to all registered bidders on 25/04/19.
Answered
25/04/2019 11:35
33. With regard to Attachment 9; are applicants able to use different location options (postcode within [...] miles) for each of the four different modes?
CCS can confirm bidders are able to use different postcode / radius options for the appropriate delivery modes where the option is provided within the SQ.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:17
32. Please could you confirm that the "State of readiness" question in the DPS/DMP questionnaire means that applicants can include Standards that it plans to be able to deliver at some point in the future but is not yet in a position to do so?
State of readiness refers to the position in which bidders are available to deliver the specific Apprenticeship service or EPA service as applicable. Bidders should not include other services for which they may be able to provide in the future. For those bidders wanting to update their service offering in the future, this can be complete by selecting additional services using the Update Answers process as detailed in the READ First DPS Needs document in the bid pack.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:15
31. Following the completion of SQ1, we have been provided with an SQ - supply evidence and an RQ1 to complete our prospectus.
Please, can you confirm what documentary evidence you require for Questions 166, 167, 168, 171, 182, 183, 184 and 185? Can you also confirm if this requires completing alongside our our RQ submission or expected to be completed after the submission?
Thank you,
Thank you
The evidence questions bidders are presented with align with the response the bidder has provided in the standard Selection Questionnaire. For example, can you provide financial accounts, if yes is selected, evidence will be requested within the evidence section of the SQ. Bidders can submit evidence where applicable following completion of their RM6102 submission, CCS would therefore recommend that bidders continue to progress with their submission and disregard the evidence requests.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:14
30. We have been asked to supply evidence of a parent company guarantee in the supporting evidence SQ. We believe our financial standing negates the need for this and this will be evidenced within the financial evidence we upload. Therefore, we would like to know if we can leave this question blank and complete should we be requested to at a later stage, as indicated in section 8 of the Dynamic Marketplace Agreement?
Thank you,
As detailed at (section 8 - Economic and Financial Standing) of the DPS Needs document within the bid pack, a corporate guarantor may only be required in the event that a bidder fails to meet the financial threshold score of 35. In the event that this occurs, the bidder will be asked to provide their last 2 years financial accounts to enable CCS Commercial Finance team to undertake a financial assessment of the accounts. If CCS determines that your financial risk is unacceptable, then the we may request that you nominate a financial guarantor. If you nominate a financial guarantor, the guarantors contact details, company registration number and DUN and Bradstreet number will be requested; to enable a financial assessment will be undertaken of your nominated guarantor.
Therefore bidders can leave this evidence request blank unless the information is required in accordance with the response provided to this questions.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:12
29. We have completed R SQ1 with our company information and it has opened up both the SQ - supporting evidence and SQ registration. Whilst we locate any required information can we submit the registration SQ?
Thank you
The evidence questions bidders are presented with align with the response the bidder has provided in the standard Selection Questionnaire. For example, can you provide financial accounts, if yes is selected, evidence will be requested within the evidence section of the SQ. Bidders can submit evidence where applicable following completion of their RM6102 submission, CCS would therefore recommend that bidders continue to progress with their submission and disregard the evidence requests.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:11
28. Please can you advise if there are any word or character limits for the narrative responses in the Prospectus sections?
CCS can confirm the word count limit is 300 for all fields in the prospectuses, and not 300 characters (a previously published response has since been amended to reflect this). - Apart from one of the text fields, in the Generic Apprenticeship / EPA Prospectus Template - where a Supplier is requested to provide following information about their Organisation: What your organisation does in the Apprenticeship Training / EPA context How your organisation does this, where and who for How you ensure high standards in apprenticeship training are delivered Unique Selling Point - what makes the business unique and valuable to the public sector market The word count for this field is 500. Each of the text fields have a counter for the number of words available, so you can keep track of your responses.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:08
26. Please could you confirm whether potential providers can apply for any of the Frameworks/Standards listed in Attachment 1a or only for those included on pages 21-30 of Attachment 9?
Suppliers can submit a DPS Selection Questionnaire and prospectus for any of the Apprenticeship Standards and/ or SASE Frameworks detailed in the Selection Questionnaire. However, suppliers should only select services for which they can provide as they will be required to complete a prospectus as part of the supplier journey for every service selected.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:05
25. In the programme specific prospectus, please can you confirm your definition of "workshop" and "classroom based"?
The reference to 'Workshop' refers to a % of training that may be undertaken 'off the job', as part of a group discussion. Classroom is is a % of training 'off the job' in a room where students are being taught.
Answered
26/04/2019 12:02
24. Please can you confirm if there is a word count on the prospectus questions?
The word count for prospectus questions is 300 characters per question.
Answered
26/04/2019 11:58
23. Please can you confirm what constitutes as documentary evidence for the financial questions on the SQ? Thank you
Documentary financial evidence will only be required in the event that a supplier organisation fails to meet the financial threshold score of 35. Please refer to (section 8 - Economic and Financial Standing) of the DPS Needs document within the bid pack for further information regarding financial requirements/ guidance to support the RM6102 Apprenticeships Training Dynamic Marketplace.
Answered
23/04/2019 16:50
22. Can you confirm the closing date for submission of applications is 29th April 2023
CCS can confirm that the DPS remains open for the lifetime of it's duration, meaning suppliers can join at anytime. The intended duration period of the RM6102 DMP Agreement is for 4 years (48 months). However the DMP will go live to customers on 30th April, therefore delay in uploading offers may result in missed opportunities.
Answered
18/04/2019 14:30
