Clarifications
There are 240 clarifications for this DPS
21. Can you confirm that the closing date for applications to this opportunity is 29th April 2023.
Thank you
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).
Answered
18/04/2019 14:29
20. Do applicants have to submit/return a completed SQ in order to access the next stage - the Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace
Prospectus Section? We have completed 99% of the SQ process (which is now asking us to submit our SQ) but cannot see now how to access the Prospectus questions thereafter. Does completion/submission of the SQ automatically provide access to the Prospectus Stage or is access provided subject to the SQ being assessed. Please advise.
Once your organisation has successfully completed the standard Selection Questionnaire, your submission will move to the next stage of the supplier journey where suppliers will be presented with a Dynamic Purchasing System Questionnaire (DPSQ), detailing the procurement specific related questions and service filter options.
If your organisation successfully meets all of the SQ and DPSQ selection criteria for the, your submission will automatically be directed to the 'Qualified' stage. Where you will be able to complete generic template prospectus(s) and Apprenticeship standard and/ or End Point Assessment and/ or Apprenticeship framework prospectus(as) for the services you have selected in the DPSQ.
Answered
23/04/2019 16:48
19. Good afternoon,
We support skills, development and apprenticeships however we do not believe question 178. is applicable as our contract size is not big enough. This Action Note applies to new procurement with a full life value of £10 million and above and with a contract duration of 12 months and above. We have approximately 40 of our employees on apprenticeships (3%) plus an extensive range of CPD, standardisation and awarding winning induction programmes. Please can you confirm if we select no to question 146. we will be able to proceed with our application?
King regards,
Laura
In the event that this question is not applicable to your organisation in accordance with the guidance provided, please select 'no' to this question, as you will still be able to progress with your SQ submission if your organisation selects 'no'. Please be aware, that any suppliers who select no to this question will be contacted by CSS as part of the compliance process, to confirm the reasons for selecting no, i.e. if the question is not applicable in accordance with Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 14/15 - Supporting Skills and Apprenticeships Through Public Procurement.
Answered
23/04/2019 16:46
18. With regard to pricing, if we are acting as a sub-contractor to a Prime Apprenticeship Provider once on the framework, do we complete the matrix as if we were the main contractor or do we provide pricing according to what we would charge a Prime Apprenticeship Provider?
Pricing Matrix's should only be complete by the prime Apprenticeship Provider requesting to participate for the DPS, not their named sub-contractors. If any organisation completes a submission in their own right as the prime provider, the organisation will be required to complete a Pricing Matrix as part of their Selection Questionnaire submission.
Answered
23/04/2019 16:43
16. The apprenticeship standards listed within the SQ have incorrect levels listed next to them. Please can you look into this?
Thank you,
All Apprenticeships Standards and levels detailed in the SQ fully align with those detailed in the Institute of Apprenticeships following a refresh. Attachment 1a and 1b has been amended accordingly and will be uploaded to the bid pack in due course.
Answered
23/04/2019 16:38
15. Please can you share a copy of the prospectus we will be asked to complete for each programme we offer?
Thank you
CCS are currently revising Attachment 9 - (INFORMATION ONLY) Dynamic Purchasing System Questionnaire (DPSQ), which will be uploaded to the bid pack in due course and will detail prospectus questions only.
Answered
18/04/2019 14:24
14. Where an applicant is on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers and wishes to apply to the Dynamic Marketplace for delivery of an integrated degree, is it acceptable for that applicant to have applied or be in the process of applying to the Register of End-Point Assessment Organisations for the respective Standard, or must that applicant be on the RoEPAO for the Standard at the time of applying to the DMP?
For an integrated degree apprenticehsip the applicant must be on the RoEPAO for the Standard at the time of applying to the DMP.
Answered
30/09/2019 15:31
13. In respect of Attachment 5 and with regard to integrated degrees, are applicants to include the cost of the End-point Assessment in the "Cost of delivery per apprentice" fields?
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
03/10/2019 12:55
12. Please can we raise the following clarification questions:
Q172 Parent Company Guarantee
Please can you confirm if there is a particular guarantee or form of wording/template you would like us to use?
Q178 PPN 14/15 - DB
Please can you confirm what you are expecting to see as documentary evidence for this question? We have not been asked to provide this before so would appreciate some guidance.
Kind regards
Laura
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.
Answered
23/04/2019 16:35
11. With regard to question 136, if we do not intend to use sub-contractors, are we required to answer this question?
Kind regards
CCS can confirm if you do not intend to use sub-contractors please do not complete the sub-contractor related questions.
Answered
16/04/2019 09:32
10. Good afternoon,
Where you require documentary evidence to support our commitment to developing and investing in skills, development and apprenticeships is this form of a policy or would you like us to draft a response to cover this points?
Kind regards,
Laura
In accordance with Procurement Policy Note 14/15 (Supporting Apprenticeships and Skills Through Public Procurement); applicable supplier organisations are required to provide evidence of their commitment to developing and investing in skills in performance of the contract in question, and in particular their commitment to the creation of apprenticeships, under the contract. If a supplier has a specific policy in place to support this requirement, this can be provided to support their evidence.
Answered
16/04/2019 10:26
9. Will suppliers fail the SQ if they do not hold Cyber Essentials Certification?
CCS can confirm that suppliers will fail the SQ in the event that they are unable to provide a copy of their cyber certificate as detailed in the DMP Agreement (Clause 9). In the event suppliers do not have cyber certification, they are able to join the DPS at any time once the appropriate cyber certification has been achieved and can be evidenced.
Answered
16/04/2019 10:29
8. Are details available about whether providers on the DMP will be able to offer a different price to customers than that submitted in Attachment 5/6 for a service, and if there will be the opportunity to use either a higher or lower price in a Standard Award Procedure?
In the event that a customer opts to undertake a 'Standard' award procedure, pricing criteria will be developed by the customer as part of their Invitation To Tender. Therefore meaning prices may differ to those detailed in Attachment 5 and or Attachment 6, which will only be utilised if the customer opt to undertake the 'Rapid' award procedure.
Answered
16/04/2019 09:38
7. Hello,
We are working on our SQ, so have not yet been able to view the Prospectus questions, and have a query regarding the Attachments 5 and 6 Pricing Matrices; please could you advise if "each [...] service" you refer to in "Section 3. Selection Process" of the "READ FIRST..." document means only individual Standards/Frameworks and EPAs, regardless of the variants that may apply to an individual Standard/Framework or EPA?
We note that the Pricing Matrix Guidance for Attachment 1a states that; "You shall complete a new Pricing Matrix for each of the Apprenticeship SASE Framework or Standard Name you are able to deliver"?; and we would like to check whether different pricing options should be submitted for the various filter options in the Attachments 1a and 1b, e.g. different prices for the location options?
Thanks
CCS can confirm that the individual services detailed in the READ FIRST DPS Needs document, do refer only to individual Apprenticeships Standards and SASE Frameworks. Bidders are required to complete an individual 'Pricing Matrix' for each Apprenticeship Standard and or SASE Framework which the bidder has selected as part of their service offering (filters) in their RM6102 submission.
Answered
11/04/2019 16:02
6. With regard to sub-contractors to be included in our application, please could you advise whether those organisations must also complete separate Supplier Questionnaires on the SRS but would then select "Yes" for Q.20?
CCS can confirm that named sub-contractors are not required to complete a submission, unless they wish to request to participate a single entity.
Answered
11/04/2019 14:58
5. We are on the DPS application and have completed the selection questionnaire - we've come to the generic prospectus and now need to go away and draft responses. Is there an off-line template or way of downloading the questions that you know of - we can't see how to do this on the system.
CCS will be uploading PDF information documents to the bid pack in due course which will detail the questions in the prospectus. CCS will issue a notification to all suppliers registered to the DPS once complete. Bidders however are able to view the prospectus questions as part of the bidder submission journey, were they can to note the question detail and reconvene with their submission once the appropriate response has been formulated.
Answered
09/04/2019 16:54
4. Re. Q155 and Q156 in the Supplier Questionnaire; is it acceptable for applicants to be able to evidence equivalency to one or both of these, and if so, should the applicant select Yes or No in response?
CCS can confirm Cyber Essentials equivalents will not be accepted.
Answered
11/04/2019 15:42
3. With regard to the details to be provided by applicants following the Supplier Questionnaire stage, please could you advise what information will be required from potential suppliers for the prospectus questions?
CCS will be uploading PDF information documents to the bid pack in due course which will detail the questions in the prospectus. CCS will issue a notification to all suppliers registered to the DPS once complete. Bidders however are able to view the prospectus questions as part of the bidder submission journey, were they can to note the question detail and reconvene with their submission once the appropriate response has been formulated.
Answered
09/04/2019 16:52
2. Good morning,
We are trying to complete our SQ and would like to clarify that the pre-populated SQ name 1554368206 is correct for the RM6 102 opportunity.
It states that a response is NOT required to the questions as detailed below:
• Part 1: (CPV Codes) - Q3
• Part 2: (Contract Example 2) - Q134
• Part 2: (Contract Example 3) - Q135 • Part 2: (Contract Example) - Q137
• Part 2: Product Liability Insurance - Q143
• Part 3: (Supply Chain Management) - Q147 - Q149
• Part 3: (Past Performance) Q150 - Q154
• Part 3: (DOH Questions) - Q157 - Q161
However we cannot continue to Part 2 without selecting a CPV code at Q3 in part 1. Please can you advise if we would be best to select the following CPV code:
- Education and training services - 80000000
Many thanks,
Laura
CCS can confirm your SQ reference name input is permissible. Please select an appropriate CPV code, multiples aren't required as this wont effect your submission. The DPS Needs document for RM6102 will be amended to reflect the CPV code update provided in this response.
Answered
10/04/2019 09:55
1. Good morning,
We are trying to complete our SQ and would like to clarify that the pre-populated SQ name 1554368206 is correct for the RM6 102 opportunity.
It states that a rresponse is NOT required to the questions as detailed below:
• Part 1: (CPV Codes) - Q3
• Part 2: (Contract Example 2) - Q134
• Part 2: (Contract Example 3) - Q135
• Part 2: (Contract Example) - Q137
• Part 2: Product Liability Insurance - Q143
• Part 3: (Supply Chain Management) - Q147 - Q149
• Part 3: (Past Performance) Q150 - Q154
• Part 3: (DOH Questions) - Q157 - Q161
However we cannot continue to Part 2 without selecting a CPV code at Q3 in part 1. Please can you advise if we would be best to select the follow CPV
CCS can confirm your SQ reference name input is permissible. Please select an appropriate CPV code, multiples aren't required as this wont effect your submission. The DPS Needs document for RM6102 will be amended to reflect the CPV code update provided in this response.
Answered
09/04/2019 16:47
