Clarifications
There are 251 clarifications for this DPS
160. With reference to DMP Schedule 5 Direct Award Contract, how will the Supplier receive the Attachment 8 - Contract Order Form?
CCS can confirm that the Contract Order Form (Attachment 8) will be sent to the Supplier by the Buyer as part of their award process when awarding a contract to a Supplier derived from the RM6102 DMP
Answered
03/10/2019 12:33
159. With reference to DMP Schedule 5 Direct Award Contract and Standard Award Contract, is the Supplier entitled to negotiate and/or reject the Attachment 8 - Contract Order Form and/or Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 Annexes 1 and 2 Template Contract Order Form and Template Contract Terms V1 with each Contracting Authority?
CCS can confirm that the Contract Terms are non negotiable, however, any questions regarding Attachment 8 and Attachment 7 should be directed to the Buying organisation.
Answered
03/10/2019 12:34
158. With reference to DMP Schedule 5 para 2.4.6, please can you send us the Regulations and Guidance? Would this apply both to Rapid Award Contracts and Standard Award Contracts?
The Regulations relates to the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and Guidance is defined at Clause 1.1 of DMP Schedule 5 and states ' any guidance issued or updated by the Authority from time to time in relation to the Regulations'.
Answered
23/10/2019 15:54
157. With reference to Clauses 8.2 and 33.1.2 of the Framework Agreement. Given that we are unable to refuse to enter into individual Call Off Contracts and the provision of Contract Guarantees would require our internal approval prior to entering into the Call Off Contract, we would appreciate it if you could: • provide clarity on where in the Contract Order Form a Contract Guarantee can be requested; • and provide the CCS Guidance (for Contracting Authorities) on when a Contract Guarantee should be requested. Alternatively, if Contract Guarantees will not be required from bidders where a DMP Guarantee was not provided, could Clauses 8.2 and 33.1.2 in the Framework be amended to state 'Not Used'?
CCS can confirm that these clauses would only apply in the event that your organisation fails the financial threshold score as detailed in the DPS Needs document at section 8 Economic and Financial Standing. These are standard clauses and will remain unchanged and will only be active within your Agreement if you are required to provide a contract guarantor in accordance with the guidance referenced above.
Answered
03/10/2019 13:11
156. With reference to Clauses 8 and 33 of the Framework Agreement. Will clauses 8.1 and 33.1.1 be amended to state 'Not Used' for bidders that have passed the economic & financial standing financial threshold score of 35?
CCS can confirm that this is a standard clause and will remain unchanged. The specific requirements of any awarded contract will be detailed in the contract order form and the contract terms at contract award stage.
Answered
03/10/2019 12:58
154. With reference to Sch 5 para 2.4.6, please can you make available the Regulations and Guidance? Please clarify whether this would apply to both Rapid Award Contracts and Standard Award Contracts?
The Regulations relates to the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and Guidance is defined at Clause 1.1 of DMP Schedule 5 and states ' any guidance issued or updated by the Authority from time to time in relation to the Regulations'.
Answered
23/10/2019 16:17
153. With reference to a DMP Schedule 5 Direct Award Contract and Standard Award Contract, is the Supplier entitled to negotiate and/or reject the Attachment 8 - Contract Order Form and/or Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 Annexes 1 and 2 Template Contract Order Form and Template Contract Terms V1 with each Contracting Authority?
CCS can confirm that the Contract Terms are non negotiable, however, any questions regarding Attachment 8 and Attachment 7 should be directed to the Buying organisation.
Answered
03/10/2019 12:49
152. With reference to a DMP Schedule 5 Direct Award Contract, how will the Supplier receive the Attachment 8 - Contract Order Form?
CCS can confirm that the Contract Order Form (Attachment 8) will be sent to the Supplier by the Buyer as part of their award process when awarding a contract to a Supplier derived from the RM6102 DMP
Answered
03/10/2019 12:50
151. With reference to Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 Annexes 1 and 2 Template Contract Order Form and Template Contract Terms V1, Clause 25.3 Financial Limits, Please can you can confirm we can agree limit of liability in line with the contract value, both under a. Rapid Award; and b. Standard Award. i.e. i) Clause 25.3 limit of liability '.........'. For low value contracts, the £5M liability appears high; also ii) PI cover on an any claim basis, rather than an in aggregate limit.
CCS can confirm that the limits of liability specified for this RM6102 DMP will remain unchanged and are a mandatory requirement to have in place by the award of your first contract derived from this DPS for either the Rapid or Standard award process. However, Buyers may specify a specific insurance requirement as part of their Competition process, however, this does not impact the mandatory insurance requirements as specified in DPS Schedule 14 (Insurances).
Answered
03/10/2019 12:51
150. With reference to Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 Annexes 1 and 2 Template Contract Order Form and Template Contract Terms V1, Clause 25.3 Financial Limits, Can the following be amended from "....reference of all Losses incurred by the Customer under or in connection with this Contract as a result of Defaults by the Supplier shall in no event exceed: the higher of five million pounds (£5,000,000) or a sum equal to one hundred and fifty per cent (150%) of the Contract Charges" to "....reference of all Losses incurred by the Customer under or in connection with this Contract as a result of Defaults by the Supplier shall in no event exceed: the lower of five million pounds (£5,000,000) or a sum equal to one hundred and fifty per cent (150%) of the Contract Charges"?
CCS can confirm this is a standard clause and will remain unchanged.
Answered
03/10/2019 12:53
148. Where a training provider has not been subject to Ofsted inspection/monitoring, how should Q86 of the Generic Apprenticeship Prospectus Template be answered.
CCS can confirm if an organisation has not been subject to Ofsted inspection/monitoring please insert a link to your webpage at Question 86 of the generic Apprenticeship Prospectus Template.
Answered
03/10/2019 11:54
147. With reference to Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 Annexes 1 and 2 Template Contract Order Form and Template Contract Terms V1, has the total aggregate liability **after the first Contract Year** been omitted?
CCS can confirm 'after the first contract year' has not been omitted from Clause 25.3 of Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 and will therefore remain unchanged
Answered
03/10/2019 11:51
145. Hello. Are you looking for End-point Assessment organisations as part of this marketplace? We are an EPAO but cannot get past the question that requires a UKPRN. Please can you clarify how we get past that? We do not want to provide apprenticeship training. Thanks.
There appears to be a functionality issue in respect of the point you have raised. CCS are investigating and will contact you as a priority as soon as we are in a better position to do so.
Answered
13/09/2019 12:35
141. Good afternoon, A colleague completed the Apprenticeship Prospectus information before she left the business. Some of the information she has input is inaccurate, would it be possible to amend this or would you suggest we start again? Thank you
Without knowing exactly what parts of your SQ you would like to amend exactly it is difficult to respond. Only some of the SQ can be amended, therefore if you can provide more information, I will be able to detail a more accurate response. Many thanks
Answered
13/09/2019 12:41
140. Hello. Question 11 of the Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace asks for a UKPRN. As an EPAO we don't have a UKPRN, does that mean we cannot be part of this marketplace? Thank you.
CCS are currently reviewing the EPAO submission process and will be updating all EPAOs in due course as a matter of urgency. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this time.
Answered
03/10/2019 11:48
139. In attachment 4 additional sub contractor(s) excel spreadsheet of the Crown Commercial Service tender. The additional sub contractor(s) tab, in column N & O the drop down boxes are blank. There are no options to select and you are restricted from typing in the box. How would you complete this section of the spreadsheet?
CCS can confirm that a new version 2 of Attachment 4 Additional SubContractors has been uploaded to the Bid Pack to allow Suppliers to select the appropriate pull down options in columns N and O. Version 1 of Attachment 4 has now been removed
Answered
03/10/2019 11:46
137. If we want to remove a Framework/Standard but have not yet reached the 'Agreeing' stage, can we provide 'dummy' data to pass through the portal for Frameworks/Standards we no longer wish to deliver until we reach the 'Agreeing' stage and the 'Update DPSQ' option? Also, once we have uploaded responses for the Frameworks/Standards we wish to deliver and reached the 'Appointed' stage, will we then need to repeat the entire process (from Q.13 onwards) to add new Frameworks/Standards in the future?
CCS can confirm that Bidders are able to provide information to support their selected Services (prospectus data) at a later date, however, Buyers will only have access to the Services which appointed suppliers have provided in full within their DMP submission. Further evidence to support this process is detailed at the appropriate stage in the Supplier journey.
Answered
03/10/2019 11:45
136. We can not move past the general prospectus without putting a link to quality assurance report (which you have already confirmed that not everyone will have). Putting N/A will not work. Are we ok to put a link to our homepage to enable us to move on?
CCS can confirm that a link to the homepage is permissible
Answered
02/10/2019 11:55
134. To follow up on the question answered Jul-18-2019 08:38 Where do providers include Apprenticeship Standards on the CCS portal? Not just Apprenticeship Frameworks? Attachment 1a of the bid pack details the Standards we want to include in the portal. However I cannot see where these Standards can be selected in the portal. For example HR Support Level 3 Reference: ST0239; HR Consultant Level 5 Reference: ST0238; Associate Project Manager Level 4 Reference ST0310; Learning and Development Practitioner Level 3 Reference: ST0562 Thanks
CCS can confirm that all standards specified in your question are in the 'Business and administration' category (question 34) of the DPSQ. The same standard titles have been used in the DPSQ as detailed in the Institute for Apprenticeships. e.g. HR Support - ST0239 - Level 3, HR Consultant/ Partner - ST0238 - Level 5, Associate Project Manager - ST0310 - Level 4, Learning and Development Practitioner - ST0562 - Level 3.
Answered
24/07/2019 21:27
133. Good Afternoon, Please could Crown Commercial Services (CCS) clarify the following questions relating to the DMP Framework Agreement and Template Contract Terms (Call-off contract) documents: 1. We note that the CCS shall have a right to terminate the DMP Agreement without cause at any time following 6 months and that a contracting authority/ Customer shall have a right to terminate a Contract without cause at any time. Please can CCS confirm whether there is any scope for potential suppliers to agree for the inclusion of an initial minimum term, prior to its entering into any Contract? 2. Please could CCS clarify to what extent a potential supplier shall have a right to remedy any default, including in performance of the Services, under the DMP Agreement and/or a Contract, prior to CCS and/or any Customer having a right to suspend or terminate the DMP Agreement and/or a Contract? 3. Please could CCS clarify what a Customer's total aggregate liability might be to a potential supplier in respect of losses resulting from customer causes occurring after the end of the first contract year? We note, pursuant to clause 25.4(a), that a sum equal to contract charges shall be a Customer's total aggregate liability in respect of all losses arising as a result of customer causes occurring during the first contract year. 4. Please could CCS confirm if our below understanding of the Exit Management provisions is correct and what specific assets, if any, CCS envisages that potential suppliers of End Point Assessment Services as EPAOs might, in practice, potentially be required to sell, permit the use of and/or assign on termination or expiry of a contract. The exit management provisions set out under schedule 10, and in particular paragraph 9, of the Call off Contract Terms, suggest that in the case of each contract, a contracting authority would: • have a right to require that the potential supplier sell any of its assets, capable of legal transfer, which the potential supplier, or any key-subcontractor has used exclusively in the provision of its services to the contracting authority and to do so at net book value; • have a right to require that the potential supplier, permit the continued use of any of its, or a key-subcontractor's assets which were not used exclusively to provide the services, but instead used for provision of its services to the contracting authority as well as other purposes; and • have a right to require that the potential supplier, assign or novate any of its sub-contracts, licences for third party intellectual property rights and/or that potential supplier, grant licences for use of its own intellectual property rights; in order for either a contracting authority or a replacement supplier to the approved supplier to provide either the same or substantially similar services. 5. Noting the previous question and CCS' clarification dated 27th June 2019 concerning the status of potential suppliers under data protection legislation and under any contract, please confirm whether a potential supplier providing an End Point Assessment Service as an EPAO may also draw up such terms on the basis of an independent data "controller" relationship between the supplier and customer, given the fact that such suppliers must inevitably also determine the purposes and means of processing in order to provide their service and shall also be bound by their own regulatory obligations concerning provision of any such service. 6. Please can CCS clarify whether potential suppliers on the framework are obliged to accept any contract awarded to them through the "Rapid Award Procedure"? 7. Can CCS please confirm whether Schedule 5: Staff Transfer (Part B) of the contract applies to EPA organisations and that this would only relate to defaulted contracts as opposed to natural termination at end of a contract? Kind regards,
1. The contract terms will remain as drafted. The DMPA and Call documents are different and separate contracts with different requirements.
2. The termination and suspension rights are clearly set out in the DMPA and Call Off Contract terms and conditions. If you are unclear with how these elements of the contracts operate you should take independent legal advice.
3. Issues of liability are dealt with in clause 25 of the call off contract. If you are unclear as to the extent of your financial liabilities you should consider this section carefully (with you advisors if necessary). Your attention is drawn to clause 25.3.
4. The terms of the Exit Management plan are as set out in Schedule 10, it is for you to review these terms and make a decision on whether to participate or not.
CCS do not envisage many, if any, assets would for EPAO be subject to the requirements of schedule 10.
5. You are referred to the answer provided on 27 June and the CCS view on the scope of the data protection obligations. It is CCS' view that there is a discretion within the Contract terms for the parties to draw up a data controller / data processor or joint controller agreement. You should take your own advice on the nature of any such agreement.
6. CCS would expect suppliers to be willing to accept contracts whichever process is used. DMP schedule 5 sets out the call for completion procedure. You should review that schedule to ensure you are comfortable with the process. You will note that para 7.2 of schedule 5 makes it clear that a contract for under the Rapid Award process is completed when the supplier signs and returns the Contract Order Form. CCS will monitor how suppliers engage with the DMPA and take action accordingly.
7. The terms and conditions of the contract, in their entirety, apply to all suppliers. If you are unsure of the risk and implications of the staff transfer aspect, you should take advice.
Answered
03/10/2019 15:31
