Clarifications
There are 132 clarifications for this DPS
81. I've reviewed the DPS Supplier Needs document. Do we need to submit the Cyber Essentials certification only after being appointed as a supplier, or do we need to provide it when applying in response to the Selection question? Please confirm.
Cyber Essentials is a mandatory requirement and needs to be provided within the application stage for the DPS.
Answered
03/10/2023 13:31
80. Regarding supporting evidence documents, is it sufficient to provide only the Cyber Essentials certification, or are there any additional supporting documents required? Please clarify.
Please see the below list of insurances which are a mandatory requirement: - Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance of £5,000,000.00 minimum - Public Liability Insurance of £1,000,000.00 minimum - Professional Indemnity Insurance of £1,000,000.00 minimum - Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus
Please also review and read the Bid Pack.
Answered
03/10/2023 13:33
79. As a service-oriented organization, we intend to provide services exclusively under this contract. Is it truly necessary for us to acquire a product liability insurance certificate, or can we proceed without it?
Please see the below list of insurances which are a mandatory requirement:
- Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance of £5,000,000.00 minimum
- Public Liability Insurance of £1,000,000.00 minimum
- Professional Indemnity Insurance of £1,000,000.00 minimum
- Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus
Answered
07/09/2023 10:00
78. We have completed the standard selection questionnaire and can click on 'save and continue'. When we do we are directed to the start of another questionnaire - however it is not labelled DPSQ anywhere. In fact we are asked to give the questionnaire a name and description which doesn't sound right. Can you confirm that we should see DPSQ referenced somewhere? If this sounds like something has failed, can you advise us what we need to do to be able to access the DPSQ?
Please see the link below for the CCS Website, which has all the current DPS frameworks:
https://supplierregistration.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/dps
If you click on the header that the DPS you wish to apply for falls under, it will then open up a new page with the DPS that fall under that header. Against the required DPS, you then need to click on "Access as a supplier".
This will then take you to a log in page for Supplier Registration Service (SRS). If you have login details for Contracts Finder, then you can use these log in credentials to access SRS. If not, located in the top right hand corner, you should see "Register" - click on this and follow the onscreen instructions to register for an account on SRS.
Please also review the Bid Pack which can also be obtained from the link above, prior to submitting an application for the DPS.
Answered
01/09/2023 13:18
77. In relation to obtaining the Cyber Essentials Basic certification, we are currently certified under the ISO 27001 standard and have structured our security protocols according to the guidelines of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Furthermore, our ISO 27001 certification, which has been granted by a trusted third party, explicitly verifies that we fulfill all five stipulations outlined in the Cyber Essentials scheme. Is it possible for us to move forward with these existing certifications as part of our application for the Cyber Essentials Basic certification?
Your guidance and support in this matter would be highly valued.
Cyber Essentials certification is a mandatory requirement of the DPS. Please note that Cyber Essentials was developed because neither ISO27001 nor other considered standards were sufficiently prescriptive to defeat common internet based threats as per the PPN.
Answered
01/09/2023 13:15
76. Hi there, is there any scope for the Supplier to raise any deviations to the Terms & Conditions as part of our response? If so, at what point of the process between submitting the SQ+DPSQ and signing a call-off agreement with a buyer would we able to raise these? Thank you.
Core Terms & Conditions of the agreement cannot be changed. Please review the Bid Pack and also the "READ FIRST" document within the Bid Pack for further guidance.
Answered
01/09/2023 13:26
75. Good afternoon, as part of our submission we are proposing a subcontractor who does not yet have the Cyber Essentials accreditation. As per the guidelines they will certify to state that they will achieve this by award onto the DPS and they are currently in the process of completing their Cyber Essentials application. If, for example, they do not achieve certification by the required time, will this void our whole application onto the DPS Framework, or will they just be removed as a subcontractor from our application?
Cyber Essentials is a mandatory requirement for all framework suppliers (directly party to this agreement). Subcontractors need to self certify that they will have this in place as you say but it is down to yourselves as the framework supplier to manage this. Should a customer ask for the subcontractor's Cyber Essentials certification and they didn't have one then the risk would lie with yourselves.
Answered
07/09/2023 09:58
74. Hi. We have reviewed the Schedules and wanted to clarify at what point in the application would we be required to define our Special Terms to incorporate into the Appointment Form with CCS?
Core Terms & Conditions of the agreement cannot be changed. Please review the Bid Pack and also the "READ FIRST" document within the Bid Pack for further guidance.
Answered
01/09/2023 13:27
73. Are the RFP opportunities listed in DPS exclusively accessible to DPS-appointed suppliers, or are they also available through other channels?
The further competitions that are run from the DPS agreement are only open to the suppliers that are on the DPS Agreement. This list will be reduced when the customer completes their shortlisting exercise within SRS to then get a narrowed down list of supliers that can meet their requirement(s). It should not be open to any suppliers that are not on the DPS agreement or the customers shortlist.
Answered
21/08/2023 12:00
72. Regards Q9.1 Cyber essential.
Our Artificial intelligence device it is a stand-alone device (hardware and software are together) that physically connects to endoscopy devices, giving real time diagnostic support to clinician during endoscopy procedures. It does not connect to or network with any other software system. It does not collect or store data and does not transfer data to our AI device to be held for any purpose. This would appear to place us and the device out of scope of cyber essential certification, so can please discuss how we manage this with our framework submission.
Cyber Essentials is a mandatory requirement (PPN 09/14) and is assessed against the company, not the product(s)they provide.
Answered
16/08/2023 15:01
71. One of our subcontractors is based in the US and states that they do not have a Company Registration Number. Can you advise how we can answer the question where this is requested within the Supplier Questionnaire as we cannot progress without entering a number here that meets the format requested. Kind regards
Please enter an 8 digit dummy number in this field to allow you to progress with the Selection Questionnaire.
Answered
16/08/2023 11:47
70. We note in the clarification responses already published it is stated that suppliers do not need to answer question 133, 134 and 135 in regards to contract examples. Q137 relates back to these three questions, therefore how do you wish suppliers to answer or should we put not applicable? Kind regards.
Q137 states 'If you cannot provide at least one example customer contract, in no more than 500 words please provide an explanation for this e.g. your organisation is a new start-up or you have provided services in the past but not under a contract.' If you have provided contract examples you do not need to answer this question, if you have answered 'no' to questions 133,134 and 135 then you will need to provide an answer for Q137 to explain why you have not been able to provide an example in the previous questions.
Answered
16/08/2023 11:46
69. We intend to use a subcontractor that is not based in the UK however the online questionnaire will not accept the format of the postcode and will not let us progress. Can you advise what we should do in this instance please. We note the other questions that advise to use the postcode used when originally setting up an account however this question is in relation to the subcontractor postcode.
The Selection Questionnaire will not accept non-UK postcodes, therefore please enter M4 6JA as a work around and email the correct postcode to support@nqc.com who can complete this offline.
Answered
16/08/2023 11:46
68. 1. Please provide clarification on the distinctions between the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) and Dynamic Purchasing System Questionnaire (DPSQ) and where we need to apply & submit it.
2. Can we participate in the procurement process even if we do not possess a Cyber Essentials certificate?
3. Is it mandatory to provide evidence, such as documentation demonstrating economic and financial standing? If so, please specify where this information should be submitted.
4. Additionally, please indicate where I need to select the Services in the SQ that our organization can deliver.
5. Is it necessary to complete all the questions in SQ & DPSQ?
Please review the Bid Pack and then once you have read all the required documentation, you would then be required to follow the detailed process in order to submit a bid application on SRS against the specific DPS. Cyber Essentials is a mandatory requirement.
Answered
08/08/2023 12:25
67. Please provide clarification on the distinctions between the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) and Dynamic Purchasing System Questionnaire (DPSQ) and where we need to apply & submit it.
Can we participate in the procurement process even if we do not possess a Cyber Essentials certificate?
Is it mandatory to provide evidence, such as documentation demonstrating economic and financial standing? If so, please specify where this information should be submitted.
Additionally, please indicate where I need to select the Services in the SQ that our organization can deliver.
Is it necessary to complete all the questions in SQ & DPSQ?
Please review the Bid Pack and then once you have read all the required documentation, you would then be required to follow the detailed process in order to submit a bid application on SRS against the specific DPS. Cyber Essentials is a mandatory requirement.
Answered
08/08/2023 12:23
66. Hello,
Can you confirm whether parts "Relevant experience" and "Pat Performance" are related to Medtronic performance as an organisation, or are they looking for specific examples of our technology linked to the DPS in question?
Kind Regards
The 'relevant experience' and 'Past Performance' would be specific to the scope of the service or technology you are providing under the DPS.
Answered
10/08/2023 11:42
65. For our office in the United Kingdom, do we simply need to acknowledge these bid pack documents, or are there any specific documents that we need to send as well?
Please review the Bid Pack and then once you have read all the required documentation, you would then be required to follow the detailed process in order to submit a bid application on SRS against the specific DPS.
Answered
04/07/2023 14:04
64. As a US based company do we require to have a UK Company Registration Number to complete an application?
With regards to your company registration please provide the same details you used to register as a supplier on the Supplier Registration website.
Answered
26/05/2023 13:18
63. Question 55 on attachment 6 Asks 'Please confirm you are able to provide your Companies House number, to verify your response at question 54. If you fail to provide a response to this question, you will not be able to progress with your DPS submission.
We are not yet registered as a company in the UK so do not have a Companies House number but do have a DUNS number.
Do we have to have a Companies House number to apply to be on the DPS or can we just confirm we don't have a number and proceed with the application?
With regards to your company registration please provide the same details you used to register as a supplier on the Supplier Registration website.
Answered
26/05/2023 13:24
62. 162. Which of the following CESG cyber certifications does your organisation currently hold? Please tick all that apply.
We do not have any of these, are they a hard requirement for the application? We do have our Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO27001 certifications if these are sufficient as an alternative?
Please see the below list of insurances which are a mandatory requirement:
- Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance of £5,000,000.00 minimum
- Public Liability Insurance of £1,000,000.00 minimum
- Professional Indemnity Insurance of £1,000,000.00 minimum
- Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus
Answered
26/05/2023 13:17
