Clarifications

The Assessing stage usually lasts up to 15 days, if CCS is required to carry out further enquiries then this may take up slightly longer than the 15 days but notice and information will be given

Accounts would only be requested if your organisation did not meet the required financial threshold (D&B failure score). In this event, a letter would be accepted alongside your accounts.

The CCS Authorised Representative is a representative from CCS, not your organisation.

If when leaving these questions blank, the system is producting an error message. Please enter N/A. If you are not a relevant commercial organisation as defined by section 54 ("Transparency in supply chains etc.") of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 "the Act" please select No to question 138. Whilst CCS cannot guarantee any business through our agreements, where appropriate we expect suppliers to support applicable Government policies. Therefore if you can support apprenticeship where appropriate please respond accordingly. A response stating No would not prevent you being appointed to the DPS. Therefore Q177 & 178 can remain blank.

It is correct that clarification questions on the selection questionnaire can be asked via both the DPS marketplace and the DPS mailbox. To clarify your initial question on the CCS authorised representative, I refer you to page 4 of the DPS Needs which states "When we use "CCS", "we", "us" or "our" we mean Crown Commercial Service". The CCS authorised representative will be an individual from Crown Commercial Service and not from your organisation.

We can confirm that all applications are assessed on their individual merit, whether as an individual supplier or as part of another arrangement.

As this is a DPS, suppliers can register to join at any time.

The 3 roles are various contacts for CCS to engage with. DPS Agreement Manager - initial contact point with CCS Commercial Manager relating to DPS agreement. DPS Lead - point of escalation for issues that cannot be resolved by DPS Agreement Manager. CCS Authorised Representative - Commercial Manager within CCS.

It is important that you access the SRS system via this link https://supplierregistration.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/dps#fmandproperty and click Access as a Supplier. If you enter the SRS any other way, the system will not link you to the DPSQ for VCIS. When accessing the system via the instructions above, it should link any SQ that you have already completed to your account. If you have followed the instructions above and are still having problems accessing the DPSQ, please contact the software provider NQC via the Contact Us link at the bottom of the above webpage.

Suppliers should note that for the VCIS DPS, Schedule 3 will not be used and should be disregarded. Suppliers will be required to submit pricing relating to a Buyer's specific requirements as part of their competition.

Yes, this would be acceptable. However, a Buyer may request more detailed information from Suppliers as part of their competition.

Suppliers are required to have Cyber Essentials to be appointed to the agreement. Subcontractors who provide facilities or services necessary for the provision of the Deliverables (or any part of them) are potentially subject to this requirement. However, DPS Schedule 9 - Cyber Essentials Schemes states that subcontractors shall only need to demonstrate similar levels of compliance to the Cyber Essentials Scheme where they process sensitive and personal information belonging to the Buyer. Suppliers will need to decide whether their subcontractors process these types of data when deciding whether this provision applies.

Suppliers should note that for the VCIS DPS, Schedule 3 will not be used and should be disregarded. Suppliers will be required to submit pricing relating to a Buyer's specific requirements as part of their competition.

Please refer to paragraph 69-71 of the DPS Needs document. Cyber Essentials Scheme Basic Certificate (or equivalent) is required for this DPS, as detailed in DPS Schedule 9 and the DPSQ. Please refer to questions 5, 6 and 7 of the DPSQ.

We can confirm that you are not required to submit your pricing at this stage. Suppliers will be required to submit pricing relating to a Buyer's specific requirements as part of their competition.

Whilst CCS cannot guarantee any business through our agreements, where appropriate we expect suppliers to support applicable Government policies. Therefore if you can support apprenticeship where appropriate please respond accordingly. a response stating No to these specific questions would not prevent you from being appointed to this DPS.

Please refer to the DPS Needs document, Who Can Request to Participate heading. You can submit a request to participate as a single legal entity. Alternatively, you can work together with other legal entities to form a Group of Economic Operators or use Subconractors. If you do, we ask the Group of Economic Operators to choose a lead member who will submit the bid on behalf of the Group of Economic Operators and you will have to identify what each of the parties is contributing to the bid. You can do this in Your Request to Participate. You are advised to select only the relevant criteria to your organisation. Buyers using the RM6213 Marketplace will assess your credentials for specific contract opportunities during call for competitions.

We can confirm that a response to Q137 is not required.

The Bid Pack for this DPS agreement can be found on Contracts Finder and the Supplier Registration Service. You can also refer to the Contract Notice 2020/S 072-173486.

Installation location relates to the area/country you are able to install/work enabling potential customers to support localism if required.