GOV.UK Clarifications
There are 62 clarifications for this DPS
64. In relation to Clarification 55: Cyber Essentials Sub Contractor accreditation. We feel that the response is ambiguous and not definitive in terms of the 'should hold certification'.
As with the supplier who raised the question, we have a subcontractor who currently does not hold Cyber Essentials certification. Our concern is whether our application will be deemed non-compliant if our subcontractor is not accredited on or before appointment to the DPS.
Please may you provide clarification on:
1. Is it a requirement for subcontractors to hold Cyber Essentials certification to be considered compliant? Or will other relevant industry recognised memberships and accreditations be deemed sufficient?
2. What role, if any, does the lead bidder play in ensuring subcontractor compliance with Cyber Essentials certification?
3. Will our application be disqualified if our subcontractor does not possess Cyber Essentials certification at the time of appointment to the DPS?
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to your response.
Subcontractors are required to hold a valid and in date cyber essentials certificate. It is the lead bidders responsibility to manage the assurance of any subcontractors, including their compliance with cyber essentials. No, the lead bidder will not be disqualified if a subcontractor does not hold cyber essentials at appointed, but the lead bidder should ensure the subcontractor holds cyber essentials before tendering for requirements where the subcontractors services will be required. Supplier risk for subcontractors is the responsibility of the lead bidder.
Answered
12/02/2024 12:47
63. Also, if we must answer Q150 - Q154 in the SQ, would we be disqualified if we said 'no' to 150-153 and 'n/a' to 154?
No. An assessment of all answers will be taken at the assessment stage.
Answered
13/11/2023 18:45
62. Please can you advise. Questions in Part 3: (Supply Chain) Q150 - Q154 are exempt according to the READ FIRST document; but in the SQ, Q150 - Q154 fall under Part 3 (Past Performance). Must they be answered, or not?
Yes, these questions related to past performance need to be answered. This is a typo in the read first document, as the supply chain questions are the previous 3 questions before the past performance ones. Thanks for flagging, we will get this updated.
Answered
13/11/2023 18:38
61. Q129 of the SQ asks whether the supplier meets the minimum level of economic and financial standing and/or minimum financial threshold specifed within the evaluation criteria for the procurement (yes/no). Please could you point me to the document where the evaluation criteria have been specified as I have not been able to locate it in the bid pack. Thank you.
The Financial Viability Risk Assessment (FVRA) documentation can be found in the bid pack, in Attachment 7 - Bid Pack Part 1 (General). It is the second document in that file. You will also find a document with instructions on how to complete the FVRA in the same file. The FVRA is uploaded as part of the DPSQ towards the end of the questionnaire.
Answered
14/08/2023 15:16
60. Hello there, with regards to sheet '2.1 Lead Ancillary Input' is the credit rating and credit score required?
Yes, all elements of 2.1 of the FVRA must be completed. Further information can be found in the 'bidder instructions' tab, found in the FVRA document, and the FVRA instructions document found in the bid pack.
Answered
19/06/2023 14:44
59. With regards to DPS SQ questions relating to statistics on the payment to supply chain (e.g., DPS SQ q69) - we will be using one sub-contractor with whom we do not have a previous history of payments to. Please could the scope of these questions be confirmed? Are we to provide details for our entire supply chain even if unrelated to this opportunity as that is a large dataset to analyse?
Yes, this covers your whole supply base. This gives us a view of the organisations progress in relation to prompt payment. Further information can be found in the 'Read First - DPS NEEDS' document, section 27.
Answered
19/06/2023 12:22
58. With regards to DPS SQ questions relating to statistics on the payment to supply chain (e.g., DPS SQ q69) - we will be using one sub-contractor with whom we do not have a previous history of payments to. Please could the scope of these questions be confirmed? Are we to provide details for our entire supply chain even if unrelated to this opportunity as that is a large dataset to analyse?
Yes, this covers your whole supply base. This gives us a view of the organisations progress in relation to prompt payment. Further information can be found in the 'Read First - DPS NEEDS' document, section 27.
Answered
19/06/2023 12:22
57. Good afternoon, our annual accounts are too large to upload and Zip files cannot be uploaded. Please can you advise how to proceed?
if you are unable to upload the document, please send this via email to commercial-finance@crowncommercial.gov.uk, highlighting your organisation name and that it relates to the FVRA for RM6322 Fund Administration & Disbursement Services DPS.
Answered
19/06/2023 12:23
56. With regards to Part 3: Past Performance questions 150 - 154, will not answering this question constitute a fail? We note that PPN 04/15 applies to contracts above £20m and we will not be bidding for contracts this large under this DPS.
You must answer these questions with either a 'yes' or 'no'. Answering 'no' is not a fail, it merely highlights you aren't able to provide this evidence. If you answer 'yes' you'll be asked to provide the evidence later in the questionnaire, so if you do not have it then select 'no',
Answered
16/06/2023 11:29
55. Re: DPS SQ question 9 (Do the members of your Group of Economic Operators and/or proposed Sub-Contractors agree to have Cyber Essentials certification on or before appointment to the DPS, in line with Schedule 9 (Cyber Essentials Scheme) of the Terms and Conditions).
Guidance on non-compliant criteria for this question states that:
"If you answer No, your organisation will be deemed as non compliant and will therefore be rejected from the RM6322 DPS."
Our sub-contractor does not currently have Cyber Essentials Certification and will not be able to complete this urgently, however they do hold the following certifications: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Data Security and Protection Toolkit (NHS DSP). They are actively working towards Cyber Essential Certification.
As such as lead bidder we would be satisfied that this subcontractor is suitable and meets our assurance standards. For the avoidance of doubt, please could the Authority confirm that if we select "No", will our submission be rejected despite the above information?
We wish to ensure our submission is both transparent and accepted.
All suppliers, and subcontractors, should hold Cyber Essentials. The lead bidder will be undertaking any assurance for subcontractors, so the responsibility is with you as the lead bidder to ensure all subcontractors used hit the assurance requirements.
Answered
14/08/2023 15:18
54. Good morning, with ref to question/response 2589 -
For the avoidance of doubt please could the Authority confirm whether sub-contractors require Cyber Essentials? The response to the above question suggests that only the Lead Bidder would need this, however DPS SQ question 9 suggests that this is required whether supporting organisations are part of a Group of Economic Operators or Sub-contractors - we wish to ensure our application is not rejected.
Kind regards
All suppliers - whether in a group or sub-contracting - should have cyber essentials. However, if you are a lead bidder working with sub contractors, it is on the lead bidder to manager the supplier assurance, including all checks of their suitability - this doesn't have to be provided to CCS. Evidence for the lead bidder only needs to be provided. For a group of economic operators all in the group would have to provide CCS with this evidence.
Answered
15/06/2023 10:36
53. Good morning,
Please could the authority confirm if members of a Group of Economic Operators will need to complete Attachment 3a FVRA even if they will not be receiving/handling funds directly from a Buyer? i.e., this will be done directly by the Lead Bidder?
Also, please could the authority confirm if instead we bid as a Lead bidder with sub-contractors, would our sub-contractors need to complete Attachment 3a FVRA?
Kind regards,
Yes, the FVRA would be in place for all members of the group. If a lead bidder was operating with sub contractors, only the lead bidder would be subject to the FVRA and other subsequent requirements, such as cyber essentials, by CCS. CCS would undertake some basic checks on the subcontractors, but ultimately, the responsibility to manage the viability of a subcontractor lies with the lead bidder.
Answered
15/06/2023 09:22
52. Good morning,
We note that all members of a Group of Economic Operators must have Cyber Essentials on or before appointment to the DPS in line with Schedule 9 (Cyber Essentials Scheme) of the Terms and Conditions.
We are seeking award to the DPS for an opportunity that is due to be published imminently (as advised via a PIN) and not all of our Group has Cyber Essentials, though they do have a timeline for achievement. As Lead bidder however we do have Cyber Essentials already and are pursuing Cyber Essentials Plus. Please could the Authority advise if this would be permitted and if there is any other supporting evidence we can provide (such as the security provisions the group member has in place in the interim), or would our application to the DPS be rejected?
Kind regards
Hi, all members of the group would have to conform to all requirements of the DPS - such as having cyber essentials and passing the FVRA requirements. I appreciate that other group members have cyber essentials pending, however, they would not be permitted without having this in place.
Answered
15/06/2023 09:21
51. Good Afternoon
Re Attachment 5-Group of Economic Operators v1.0 - please could you confirm when this document should be emailed - i.e., at SQ or DPS SQ stage - as there is no prompt within the questionnaire?
Attachment 6 DPS SQ p124 states "If you are bidding as the lead contact for a group of economic operators, please issue this SQ Reference to all Sub-contractors that are being relied upon to enable you to meet the selection criteria. Sub-contractors may be required to submit a standard Selection Questionnaire as part of the tender and will be prompted to provide this SQ Reference." - we will not be using sub-contractors but will be bidding as part of a group of economic operators. Please could you confirm if the other group members will need to complete an SQ at some stage or if this only applies to Sub-contractors?
DPS SQ q101 states that not having a CRP will be a FAIL, however DPS SQ q104 suggests that drafts can be uploaded if not fully complete. Furthermore, qs 107 and 108 suggest that a CRP can be published in the future if not available now. Please could the correct position be clarified as quick application to this DPS is required for an upcoming tender and not all group members currently have a CRP?
Many thanks,
Attachment 5 can be submitted as part of the evidence submission at the end of the SQ. You must declare your group members on that document. They must also be reflected within the FVRA requirements. Group members do not need to complete the SQ, but as the 'lead' you will need to fill in all the questions relating to group of economic operators within your SQ. As for your DPSQ question, not having a CRP will only be a fail if you select that you wish to be available for contracts of over £5m. If you select contracts less than this amount, you do not have to submit a CRP at this stage and can proceed without. The DPSQ can be amended later, so you can add a CRP, and select to be available for contracts over £5m, at a later stage.
Answered
02/06/2023 13:47
50. SQ questions 19, 20, and 21 pertain to the bidding model. Specifically, it asks whether we will participate alone, as a group of economic operators or with subcontractors. If we select any of the latter options, we are required to provide details of those companies.
Given the current information available regarding the tender, it is unclear whether we will require subcontractors. Should we still provide this information upfront, or can we proceed independently and propose subcontractors at a later stage when more information becomes available?
Many thanks
This is to register to join the DPS agreement. This isn't for specific tender.
You can progress without submitting subcontractor information, however if you intend to use subcontractors in the future you have to declare them to CCS. There is an 'additional subcontractor' form in the bid pack, which you have to send to CCS. Additionally, you'd have to declare any subcontractors within any bid for a tender for a customer competition. You will have to weigh up declaring all potential subcontractors now, if you need them or not, or do it down the line. Either way, if subcontractors are to be used, they must be declared. It may be more time saving to add subcontractor information now.
Answered
25/05/2023 10:04
49. I have received a message to resubmit the financial assessment but there is no means to do so. Please can you advise on how this is to be resubmitted.
Log into the Supplier Registration Service
Select the 'Profiles' tab.
Set the 'Questionnaires' filter to 'All questionnaires' and the 'Status' filter to 'Any'.
Locate the Selection Questionnaire, amend and resubmit
For navigation support contact support@nqc.com
Answered
04/04/2023 12:02
48. Q179 states "Upload documentary evidence for a list of relevant principal contracts for goods and/or services provided in the last three years" What level of detail are you after for this response. Just a client list or do you want a description of services, contract dates and contract value relevant to the services of this DPS?
This would be a list of contracts potentially relevant to the services under this DPS. This is evidence which would be have selected by you as evidence you can provide earlier in the questionnaire (Q160). If you are unable to provide this, return to the earlier question and deselect it. It only asks for evidence if you have previously selected you can provide it.
Answered
21/03/2023 17:06
47. Good afternoon,
We have completed the SQ and Evidence stages, but it is not clear on our view of the Client Portal if this is now in the assessing stage. Please can you advise what our current status is and what the next steps are?
Kind Regards,
Hi. No, you are not a the assessing stage as you have completed the SQ element only. Once the SQ is completed, you should be taken through to the DPSQ which asks specific questions relating to this agreement. Please access the portal again, clicking the questionnaire, and proceed to the DPSQ. Further information is found in the DPS Needs document in the bid pack. If this is not pulling through for you it may be a technical issue, which will need to be directed to support@nqc.com, CC'ing in Chris Chamberlain who is agreement manager - chris.chamberlain@crowncommercial.gov.uk.
Answered
06/03/2023 13:41
45. Please can you clarify what evidence you are looking for question Q172: Upload documentary evidence for parent company guarantee.
This relates back to question 131, where you have ticked 'yes' to 'would you be able to provide a guarantee from a parent company'. This is a document or certificate of guarantee than confirms support from the parent in the event of any issues the company has. If you are not able to provide this, please return to q131 and select 'no'.
Answered
15/02/2023 10:19
44. Could you please provide a definition for the type of funds that fall within the category of Commercial Payment, as referenced in Attachment 1 - RM6322 FAADS Products & Services Matrix, Customer Filter 3. Thank you
The term Commercial Payment is a general term that may be used by a Buyer in describing the fund that they are disbursing in their scheme or programme. It does not refer to any particular fund type. Occasionally there are funds that do not easily fall under a descriptor such as grant, loan or entitlement benefit etc.
Answered
02/02/2023 09:48
