Clarifications

91. Are Crown Commercial Services able to provide regular updates on the volume/value and type of apprenticeship contracts being procured through the new DPS Framework throughout its contract life? Kind regards

90. Is there a list of approved providers available which will continually be updated? If so, where is this list? Kind regards

89. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Dynamic Marketplace Agreement (RM6102) Schedule 2 - Goods and/or Services and Key Performance Indicators - Part A, Point 2.8.1: Confidentiality Agreement Please can the Authority confirm whether the reference to the Supplier being required to brief "each of its employees" on organisational security procedures and the provisions of the Official Secrets Act 1911-1989, should refer to "Supplier Personnel", so that the obligation is related to those individuals engaged in the DMP Agreement and call-off Contracts, rather than all employees.

88. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Contract Schedule 4 - Security - Security Management Plan Please confirm if a Security Management Plan is a requirement of the call off Contract Terms. Clause 23.1 of the main Contract Terms and the wording in Annex 1 of Contract Schedule 4 indicate that a Contract Management Plan will be needed if required by a Customer. However the wording in paragraphs 4.1 and 4.3 of Contract Schedule 4 would appear to indicate that it is an absolute obligation to provide one. Please could some clarify be provided on this point.

87. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Contract Schedule 3, Clause 3.1 - Contract Charges, Payment and Invoicing Please confirm if the reference in lines 1-2 of clause 3.1 to "paragraph 5 of this Contract Schedule 3 (Reimbursable Expenses)" is correct. The bidder can find no reference to '(Reimbursable Expenses)' in paragraph 5.

86. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Clause 31.4 - Supplier Termination Rights Please could some clarity be provided as to why a Supplier would be expected to provide the services if a Customer has failed to pay an undisputed sum in accordance with clause 31.1 and a termination notice has been validly served.

85. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Clauses 23.25 to 23.39 inclusive and Contract Schedule 8 - Data Protection The bidder believes that there will be a controller to controller relationship (and not a controller to processor or even a Joint Controller relationship) between a Customer and the bidder under the definitions set out in the current data protection legislation. The bidder is a higher education institution and a public body. Where a Customer is processing the Personal Data of the apprentices as employees it will be the controller and where the bidder is processing the Personal Data of the apprentices as students of the bidder on credit bearing programmes, the bidder will be the controller. The bidder cannot assume the role of data processor where it is deciding the purposes and means of data collection. In the case of the delivery of a course or programme, where it will be in position to decide what data is needed in order to deliver that course and administer an award, it will not be acting on the instructions of another party in the vast majority of cases. The bidder has its own obligations to administer awards and these cannot practically be dictated by a Customer. The bidder will have a direct relationship with data subjects, which may (and it should be assumed) extend to a relationship of confidence. For example, if a student were to declare a disability to it or access its confidential wellbeing services or any form of pastoral care (including information that may be provided in confidence to tutors for example) the bidder would not be able to provide/delete all data on the instructions of the Data Controller in these instances. In all these instances, the bidder would not 'ask consent' from the Controller before collecting any new data that may be gathered as part of this relationship with the bidder - this is not logical or workable. If data subjects exercised rights in relation to their data, it would not be possible to provide data of this nature to a Customer on demand without potentially breaching the duty of confidence. The data that will be required during the lifecycle of a delivered course, while definable to a degree, is very likely to be unpredictable. It would very much be dependent on what services the student accesses during their time on the course and, again, the purposes and means will ultimately be decided by the bidder in those instances. Students may also go onto (and would likely be invited) to become Alumni after their course ends. Again, it is the bidder that is responsible for this onward processing of data for its own purposes. The bidder also retains student records for other autonomous purposes connected to its public tasks and verifying studies that students have undertaken, again, this is not under the control of another party. The bidder also has its own retention periods in respect of this which would conflict with any requirements to delete data at the end of the service provision or similar. The bidder is strongly of the view that it will not be a data processor (or even joint controller) as a result of being a 'supplier' of apprenticeship training services. The parties are acting as separate Data Controllers, who will share information for the purposes of meeting the aims of the scheme. This does mean the contractual clauses need to cover an understanding of what data will or must be shared, due diligence by both parties in terms of the security of data, and robust measures in place to communicate in instances of breach, exercising of rights and privacy notices. For the above reasons the bidder believes the terms in clauses 23.25-23.39 (Data Protection) do not reflect the reality of what would actually be a controller to controller data processing scenario, or that they are ultimately in the best interests of the apprentices themselves. If the bidder is successful, please advise if the provisions of clauses 23.25-23.39 and Contract Schedule 8 could be adjusted by Customers to reflect controller to controller data protection provisions.

84. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Clause 23.20 - Transparency Please confirm if "Contract Reference 10" is the correct reference in the last line of this clause, or whether it should be "Contract Reference 9".

83. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Clause 23.19 - Transparency Please confirm which Contract Schedule is meant to be referenced in this clause, as it currently reads "0".

82. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Clause 7.3(d) - Provisions of the Goods and/or Services Please can you provide the missing clause reference at the end of the sentence.

81. CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: Call Off Contract Terms for Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (RM6102) Clause 1.4 - Definitions and Interpretations In the event of any conflict between the call off Contract Terms and the DMP Agreement, the wording indicates that any conflict will be resolved in accordance with the following order of precedence: (a) Contract Order Form; (b) Contract Terms; (c) DMP Agreement. This appears to conflict with the wording in clause 1.2.3 (Interpretation) of the DMP Agreement which indicates that in the event of any conflict the provisions of the DMP Agreement will prevail over the Contract Terms (or Contract as they are referred to the in DMP Agreement), save for any permitted refinement to the template order form and contract terms. Please can the Authority clarify whether the call off Contract Terms prevail over the DMP Agreement or vice versa.

80. Is question 129 of the SSQ a pass/fail evaluation response?

79. I note that the completion of the Generic Prospectus requires bidders to provide details of security management controls and processes. Please could Crown Commercial Services advise who will be able to view these generic prospectus documents?

78. Is there any mechanism in the Customer contract that permits adjustment of prices?

77. Does Schedule 3 of Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 Annexes 1 and 2 Template Contract Order Form paragraph 6.1 enable that where a Supplier updates their prices in DMP Schedule 3 (DMP Prices and Charging Structure), Part A Pricing Matrix Quarterly Adjustment Schedule, that simultaneously their prices change and update the prices signed up to Customer Contracts or does this require the Variation Procedure in clause 13.3?

76. Within the Attachment 7 DMP Schedule 4 Annexes 1 and 2 Template Contract Order Form, prices are required to be fixed for the duration of the Contract Period, however can the variation procedure at clause 13.3 be used to adjust prices?

75. Contract T&Cs: The template Contract Order Form provides the Customer a right to suspend the Contract for convenience or for default. Can you provide examples when this right could be exercised without contravening the ESFA Funding Rules?

74. Contract T&Cs: Can you confirm whether the Customer should have the right to suspend for Convenience as stated in clause 33.1? Can you confirm whether clause 33.1 should read "Where the Customer has the right to terminate [for material Default] this Contract, the Customer shall be entitled to terminate or suspend all of this Contract......"

73. Contract T&Cs: Can you confirm whether Clause 13.3 should read "Where a new or emergent standard is to be developed or introduced by the Supplier" not the Authority?

72. Contract T&Cs: Can you confirm that where the Authority terminates for Default that the replacement Supplier pays the Management Levy?