Clarifications

45. This schedule appears to require a Cyber Essentials Scheme certificate for Suppliers (and subcontractors receiving 'cyber essentials scheme data'). However, in the DPS appointment form in item 12 it states that "Cyber Essentials Scheme Basic Certificate OR ISO 27001." is required. Does this mean that either a CE Scheme Basic certificate or a ISO27001 certification is acceptable for the purposes of DPS Schedule 9?

44. DPS Schedule 8, Self Audit Certificate, includes a requirement for checking other orders not under the DPS. This includes a requirement to confirm that the orders "could not have been procured under the DPS Contract". This appears to imply that Suppliers should not be accepting work that has been procured through other mechanisms, including other extant public sector frameworks, or where the Buyer chooses to use another contracting mechanism they prefer. This is not consistent with clause 2.6 of the Core Terms, which only requires the Supplier to "tell [Buyers] about this DPS Contract before accepting their order". The CCS on other frameworks with the same wording have confirmed that all we are being asked to do is count occurrences, and we may have to issue a certificate where it is stated that such and such a matter could have been procured through the Framework but (for whatever reason) an alternative method was chosen. We assume the same applies here but please let us know if not.

43. Some of the consultancy work we expect to see on this framework will be very small (some as low as c.£25,000) and may involve subject matter experts serving as subcontractors. The identity of the subject matter expert will change depending on the exact subject matter of the work (and is very likely to change from project to project). In the context of a small piece of work it will be very easy for such a subject matter expert to end up being caught as a Key Subcontractor due to the 10% of value requirement (in this example, a subject matter expert receiving a fee of £3,000 would be caught). This is likely to result in a very long list of Key Subcontractors which will be added to constantly. Given this substantial administration required around Key Subcontractors that seems onerous for small matters, is there any practical solution we could implement to this? Perhaps accepting that Buyers alone choose (if they wish) to can sign off on a subcontractor providing value under a de minimis threshold (say £15,000 plus VAT)?

42. In a recent CCS framework it was accepted that professional services suppliers in practice had to comply with professional rules and ethical requirements even if they did not strictly have the force or law. As a result, the definition of Law was amended to include reference to "...regulatory policy, professional rules and ethical requirements, mandatory guidance..." On call offs to this DPS, we assume we can ask if Buyers are happy to include that as a special term to accomodate our regualtory and professional obligations?

41. We are aware that the Core Terms are non-negotiable but wondered if it would be possible for you to clarify the below three points for us please as an academic institution. These have arisen after our contracts office have reviewed all the terms and related policy documents. (with thanks in advance for your response) (1)Research and teaching licence - Clause 9.2: We would request the licence to be extended to non-commercial research, teaching, and publication. This is required by our charitable guidelines. (2)Liability cap - Clause 11.2 We would seek to cap our liabilities and 150% of the relevant call-off contract price would be acceptable. (3)Publication - As a University we would seek to publish our Results as without the same the work cannot be classed as research in accordance with our charitable guidelines.

40. What should we enter if we don't have a company number as we are a third sector organisation.

39. DPS Schedule 5 does not state what the Management Levy amount/percentage is. Please could you confirm the amount/percentage of fee due as the Management Levy?

38. Supply chain visibility schedule: this states that the supplier shall "advertise on Contracts Finder all Sub-Contract opportunities arising from or in connection with the provision of the Deliverables above a minimum threshold of £25,000 that arise during the Contract Period". Are we correct in interpreting this to mean that if we name specific sub-contractors in a tender submission for work under the framework then we do not need to advertise on Contracts Finder?

37. Is there an option to view all the questions in the 2nd stage of the RM6126 _Research & Insights and once complete download all our responses.

36. Question 56 of the Research Insights questionnaire - does the contract need to have been completed? For example, if we wanted to use a 2-3 year contract for which most of the outputs have been delivered, could this be used as an example in this section?

35. We are tying up our application for the Research & Insights framework, however many of our clients are unwilling to sign the Attachment 1 due to the what appears to be quasi-contractually binding commitments between the two parties. We often work with high profile clients on commercially sensitive subjects, so it is understandable that this would be problematic for them. While not in the same format, would a signed letter from the client confirming satisfaction with the work done suffice, alongside the contact details which the CCS can use to verify its statement?

34. As a follow up to Clarification Q16 we submitted: we note that under the Frequently Asked Questions PPN 06/21: Taking Account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts it states - In-Scope Organisations should take action to apply PPN 06/21 when procuring goods and/or services and/or works which are subject to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, where there is an anticipated contract value of £5 million per annum and above (excluding VAT) unless it is not related and proportionate to the contract. PPN 06/21 applies to the procurement of framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems only where it is related and proportionate, and where it is anticipated that the individual value of any contract to be awarded under the framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system is £5 million per annum and above (ex VAT). ... Does PPN 06/21 applied to call offs from frameworks or Dynamic Purchasing Systems? PPN 06/21 applies to the procurement of framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems only where it is related and proportionate, and where it is anticipated that the individual value of any contract to be awarded under the framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system is £5 million per annum and above (ex VAT). Where a call off is being made from a framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system which included PPN 06/21, the contracting authority may verify that the supplier continues to meet the Carbon Reduction Plan requirements prior to entering into contract. Therefore as a social research organisation we have never bid for a contract that is more than £5 million per annum and believe that PPN06/21 does not apply as the contracts we would be bidding for would not be related or proportionate. Therefore we are confused that our access to those contracts via the R&I DPS is being blocked through the necessity of having a CAP in place as part of the application.

33. We note the answer to Clarification question 8 regarding the requirement for a Carbon Reduction plan to be produced on contracts over £5 million. However can you confirm whether a supplier is required to have a Carbon Reduction Plan in place to be accepted onto the Research and Insights DPS and if they answer no to Q51 on carbon net zero that this will be an automatic fail on their application to the DPS

32. Q168: Is it compulsory to provide this letter outlining the company's current cash and credit position?

31. Q166: According to section 476 of the Companies Act 2006 we are lawfully entitled to claim exemption from having our annual accounts externally audited. Do we still need to provide audited accounts for the last 2 years?

30. Q154: Does this question refer to all sub-contractors that we might potentially use throughout the life of this framework or is it any sub-contractor relating to the examples given in Q150 to 152?

29. Q150: Can you please confirm if this refers to all contracts in the last 3 years or just the contracts which were procured through the current DPS Framework.

28. Q144: Is the response to the question a pass/ fail? In the procurement notice it states: 'Public procurement of contracts with a full life value of £10 million and above and duration of 12 months and above should be used to support skills development and delivery of the apprenticeship commitment.' We don't anticipate bidding for any individual projects with a full life value of £10 million and above or does this refer to the framework in its entirety?

27. Q51: The procurement notice outlines that Carbon Reduction Plans are only required if suppliers are tendering for projects with a minimum value of £5million. We would not be tendering for projects of that size and would like confirmation if it is required to submit a Carbon Reduction Plan for appointment on to the framework?

26. -Clause 14.3 of the DPS Core Terms: we've not had a contract condition to send the buyer copies of government data every 6 months and this seems to us to be unnecessary and actually not good practice. What is meant by this clause? Is the spirit of this more about sending copies upon request? If so, can this clause be changed? -Supply chain visibility schedule: this states that the supplier shall "advertise on Contracts Finder all Sub-Contract opportunities arising from or in connection with the provision of the Deliverables above a minimum threshold of £25,000 that arise during the Contract Period" with a further clause that this only applies "after the Effective Date". The term "Effective Date" is unclear to us. Are we correct in interpreting this to mean that if we name specific sub-contractors in a tender submission for work under the framework then we do not need to advertise on Contracts Finder? - DPS Schedule 5 does not state what the Management Levy amount/percentage is. Please could you confirm the amount/percentage of fee due as the Management Levy?