Clarifications

282. Cyber Essentials. My client is currently working on their application for CyberEssentials accreditation. Please can you advise if it is mandatory for this DPS to have CyberEssentials in place at the time of application?

281. Further to clarification 279, please can you check the contents of the Bid Pack linked to https://supplierregistration.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/dps#apprenticeshiptraining again? The Bid Pack as I downloaded it today contains documents labelled "Attachment 9c - (INFORMATION ONLY) - Apprenticeship Service Prospectus.pdf" and "Attachment 9d - (INFORMATION ONLY) End-Point Assessment Service Prospectus.pdf", BUT DOES NOT CONTAIN any document named "Attachment 9 - DPSQ". I am therefore still none the wiser what completing Step 4 of the Application Process (as given in the Quick Supplier Guide) entails.

279. Is there any way to access and download the DPSQ questions (Step 4 of the process) without having first worked all through and submitted the SSQ (Step 3)? It would be really helpful to know what the questions are beforehand so that we can prepare the answers offline before uploading them.

277. 1) In the event that funding caps have increased, are supplier able to update their pricing matrices at any time, or must they only be updated during the quarterly schedules outlined in Schedule 3 of the Dynamic Marketplace Agreement. 2) When suppliers submit updated pricing matrices, how long does it take following submission for the supplier to show as "appointed" on the DPS marketplace (assuming there are no issues with the submission)?

276. Further to clarification 275, where do I find attachment 9?

275. Attachment 9 - (INFORMATION ONLY) Dynamic Purchasing System Questionnaire (DPSQ) appears to be missing from the Bid Pack at the moment. Pls can you supply a copy so I can prepare our answers before going online and starting to complete the SQ? Also, please could you confirm the termination date of the DPS?

274. Hi, please can you help- Where can we access the actual question set. We cannot see this in the bid pack. Please help

272. re: RM6102 Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace DPS, Questions 144 and 145 - can you please clarify what information is being requested?. We are an approved provider of apprenticeships, however, is the question asking about whether we will be supporting our own apprentices, from an employer perspective, directly in relation to the delivery of apprenticeships training? thank you

270. Question 130 of the SQQ asks whether we "are able to provide parent company accounts if requested at a later stage" - should we leave this question blank given that there is no parent company associated with our organisation? The same query would apply to Question 131 - "Would the parent company be willing to provide a guarantee if necessary?". Q132 asks "Would you be able to obtain a guarantee elsewhere (e.g. from a bank)?", so again should we leave this blank (i.e. not answer the question)? Thank you.

269. Good afternoon. Q129 of the SQQ asks "Do you meet the minimum level of economic and financial standing and/or minimum financial threshold specified within the evaluation criteria for this procurement?" - we are expected to give a yes or no answer to this but are not made aware of what these "minimum levels/ financial thresholds" are; can you please advise how we are expected to answer this question or should we just leave blank? Thank you.

267. Good afternoon, Thank you for the guidance you have sent from the NQC Team. Are you able to respond to our CQ raised on 12/4/24 please: Row 175 of the CQ log states: "Q: We have completed the DPS Registration 2 section and named the apprenticeship standards and frameworks that we wish to offer. We have, since then, reviewed this and wish now to make some changes. Can you please advise how we go about this? It is not clear whether and how we are able to edit previously submitted responses. A: CCS can confirm that you will need to add some information in any outstanding fields which will progress your submission to 'Agreeing' stage. Once you have entered 'Agreeing' stage and accepted the CCS Terms and Conditions to become 'Appointed' as detailed in section 5 of the READ First DPS Needs document which forms part of the bid pack. CCS can then temporarily reject your submission which will then enable you to be redirected to the DPSQ where you will be able to update your service offerings; resubmit your questionnaire and become reappointed to the DMP." Can the authority please confirm/specify what they mean by "you will need to add some information in any outstanding fields"? For example, would it be acceptable to add "To be confirmed" for each outstanding field related to apprenticeship standards that we do not wish to offer, so that once CCS rejects our submission, we can amend the DPSQ updating our service offerings and e.g. our Ofsted grade if it has changed in the meantime? Many thanks in advance.

266. Hi there. Ixion need to update some of the information given in our Selection Questionnaire submitted in November 2022. Are you able to provide guidance on how we can do this please? Once Ixion have updated the information what is the timescale for moving us back to the 'Qualified' status? Could the commissioner confirm if it would be quicker to gain qualified status by completing a new selection questionnaire or updating our existing qualified questionnaire with changes.

265. Hi there. Would the commissioner please advise if there are any requirements on a minimum cohort of 8 apprentices. Can we wait to get the minimum 8 apprentices on the standard before we commence delivery?

264. Would the commissioner please consider deleting clause 25.4? There are many other ways to ensure that the Supplier is providing value for money and reasonable commercial terms to the Authority/contracting Authority. This can be done by monitoring price uplifts for fixed periods, only having contracts in place for 18 months, always using the Standard procurement procedure, and benchmarking commercial terms among the many mechanisms that the Authority can ensure they are getting value for money. To have the Authority enter into a contract with the Supplier and put undue pressure on the Supplier, that the contract can be taken away at any time because the Authority has found commercial terms more beneficial to the Authority is unreasonable as the Supplier will have amended their business practices to ensure they can deliver the contract based on particular commercial terms. The DMP agreement goes even further in that the Authority can terminate the contract for convenience on three months' notice, so having the Competitive terms clause is redundant and doesn't benefit either party.

263. Would the commissioner please advise if the supplier is allowed to reject a Rapid Award as under Schedule 5 Call for Competition procedure - there is no option to reject a Rapid Award, however is one available for the Standard procedure under clause 2.5.1. KPI 1.6 mentioned in Schedule 2 implies that we do have the right to reject a Rapid Award, and the drafting of the KPI also implies there is a closed list of reasons/grounds for why the Supplier may reject a Rapid Award. As the KPI 1.6 mentioned in Schedule 2 states "participate in Further Competitions and Request for Quotes for reasons other than 'Conflict(s) of Interest' or 'Lack of availability of Resource' must remain as six (6) or fewer occurrences in any rolling twelve (12) month period". In addition clause 33.2 states Termination on Material Default 33.2.1 The Authority may terminate this Dynamic Marketplace Agreement for material Default by issuing a Termination Notice to the Supplier where: (a) the Supplier fails to accept a Contract pursuant to paragraph 8.2 of DMP Schedule 5 (Call for Competition Procedure); Please can the commissioner confirm how schedule 5 - 8.2, clause 33.2.1 of the main agreement and the KPI 1.6 of Schedule 2 are to work together. As there may be legitimate scenarios where a Supplier just cannot take the contract on if it's a Rapid Award.

261. Would the commissioner please advise if the supplier is allowed to reject a Rapid Award as under Schedule 5 Call for Competition procedure - there is no option to reject a Rapid Award, however one is available for the Standard procedure under clause 2.5.1. KPI 1.6 mentioned in Schedule 2 implies that we do have the right to reject a Rapid Award, and the drafting of the KPI also implies there is a closed list of reasons/grounds for why the Supplier may reject a Rapid Award. As the KPI 1.6 mentioned in Schedule 2 states "participate in Further Competitions and Request for Quotes for reasons other than 'Conflict(s) of Interest' or 'Lack of availability of Resource' must remain as six (6) or fewer occurrences in any rolling twelve (12) month period".

260. Would the commissioner consider amending clause 26 to allow for the indemnity to fall under the indemnity financial cap under clause 30 of the agreement?

259. Hi there. As the DMP will end on the 29/04/2025 could the Authority please confirm if a supplier would be able to be appointed e.g. in April 2024 and be e.g. directly awarded a standard which has a completion period of 18 months?

255. Hi Team, We are on supplier list and Appointed as RM6102 Apprenticeship training service provider. is it necessary for us to re-submit the questionnaires? also, if we are already appointed then as per our understanding we have to wait for BoE requirement to be published on CCS e-sourcing portal. is it correct? Please clarify.

254. Good morning, We hope you are well We see our name on the suppliers list, but once we checked the workflow on our portal it states that the final stage is: 'Confirm Rejection: Assigned to DPS Category Owner' Does this mean we have been rejected on the framework? Are there any outstanding tasks we need to complete to ensure we have view of CCS Apprenticeship tenders going forward? Kind regards Bid Team