New Selection Questionnaire (SQ) to replace PQQ

So in England & Wales the Pooh sticks have finally emerged under the bridge, and we have guidance on replacing the traditional public sector Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) with something that is compliant with the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD).

Note that in Scotland the ESPD has been in use for months, and guess what - is not the same as the new SQ form for use in England (and at least in part in Northern Ireland and Wales).

Guidance is available at www.gov.uk in Procurement Policy Note 8/16, replacing PPN 03/15.

So what are the changes?
Well in brief it is in 3 parts, and you cannot change the first 2 at all - and the 3rd must be "proportionate".  Suppliers can re-submit previously completed SQs as they will have all the same information - they can also do  this by submitting a ESPD and referring to that.
There is clarity that you should use a PQQ for works projects above the OJEU threshold for supply of goods, and below the OJEU threshold for Works (it was not clear before) - and that for this you should use PAS91.

Few more odds and ends too.
Generally I think it could have been a bit simpler, but is a step forward.  Of course not being the same as Scotland is a step back.

In terms of Brexit, leaving aside the ESPD compliance I don't think it will have any impact.  Happy for others to clarify if it does

The new season: Contract Management and Compliant PQQ courses in Manchester 16/17 September 2015

It's not just football that has a new season.  We always have a relatively quiet summer for training, and then things pick up again in September.  Like the transfer window a few things are usually up in the air till the last minute.

But, I can confirm that I shall be running a couple of courses for BIP Solutions Pass Training in Manchester this month
Wednesday 16th September I shall be running Drafting a Compliant PQQ - which is a rather interesting topic given the changes to PQQs this year.
Thursday 17th September it is Contract Management - which is a topic that I know I always drone on about, but has always been vitally important and given the changes in the PCR 2015 will now be even more important than before.

Both are at the Renaissance Marriot in Manchester, just off Deansgate and down the hill a bit from Harvey Nichols (in case you need any more incentive to come along), next to a multi-storey car park.

Hope to see you there.  Now where is that suit and tie?

Eliminating PQQs - the consquences

I know I keep wittering on about this, but I believe that the elimination of PQQs will have the opposite result to that intended - increased participation by SMEs in public contracts.  Philip Prince of Constructionline takes a similar view in Supply Management Magazine.


http://www.supplymanagement.com/blog/2015/06/new-public-contracts-regulations-risk-increasing-the-burden-on-buyers-and-sme-suppliers

Course: Guide to Public Procurement, London Thursday 13th March 2014

Apologies for the short notice, but I shall be in London on Thursday running the Guide to Public Procurement, and Passing the PQQ stage (2 separate half day events).  Details are here.

Looks like there would be room for one or two more delegates, but no more.  So if you are interested please get in touch asap.

Government support for SMEs

The latest Business Link Newsletter has come round, outlining what the government is doing to support SMEs - in particular in winning business from the government. The news is mixed, and as always with governments of all persuasions contains a mixture of real initiatives, hope, aspiration, spin and the rehashing of existing initiatives as something new.

Large businesses are encouraged to pay smes quickly. This is laudable, but without any real government push behind it is essentially just a wishful idea. Anecdotal evidence is that larger companies are pushing out their payment terms, essentially banking with their sme suppliers, confident that their suppliers are desperate for business. SMEs generally would be happy if their large clients paid on time. Quicker payments would be a real bonus. Quicker than 30 days is probably unrealistic. 30 days exactly would probably be fine for all.

The pressure on major contractors to government to make quicker payments down the supply chain is welcome, but needs some real teeth. When suppliers are dropped for failing to pay sub-contractors they will take real notice. Until then they will pay lipservice until they feel it is safe not to do so. Publishing the data on a website is also to be supported as a general principle, though I am not sure what will be achieved. The public are not interested, and the SMEs already know, and I am not sure that shame will be sufficient. In fact you could argue that the shareholders will be pleased to know that contractors are pushing out payment terms, and therefore increasing their returns.

14 departments have eliminated the PQQ process for low value tenders. This is valuable for SMEs, though as I have argued long and weary a similar benefit could be achieved by all departments using the standard OGC PQQ template for all tenders. Then SMEs would only have to fill it in once. It could even be stored on government servers - as was tried in the One Form initiative in St. Helens. Back in February Robert Peston of the BBC pointed out that eliminating the PQQ process was not a sure fire way to get more competition - see here.

Contracts Finder continues to limp along, and is not really finding traction. The private sector alternative services seem to be able to provide a more extensive service, and so are (if not thriving at least) continuing. The number of contracts published seems low compared to the long standing equivalents in Scotland and Wales. Scotland are trumpeting the fact that their service is now publishing more opportunities below the OJEU threshold than above - which is of real relevance to SMES. It seems like there are lessons to be learned from the existing services.

Contracts Finder has lead to 600 contracts being let to SMEs since February - about 150 per month. Hopefully this will accelerate. The value is over £80m, which means the average contract was for £133 000, or about the OJEU limit. This is fine for some SMEs, but is very large for the smaller SMEs and micro businesses. Real success would be to get that down to, say, £50 000. Then opportunities would be be accessible by even the smallest businesses.


The 9 winners of the government's Innovation Launch Pad Product Surgery competition, out of 350 SMES were able to pitch their ideas to government. Laudable in itself, but why a competition over 3 months to pitch these ideas? Why not a series of Meet the Buyer events which would have allowed all 350 to pitch? The winners look like interesting businesses, of real benefit to the country. However many of them are existing suppliers to the government, and were pitching products that they already sell to the government. Hardly the sort of innovation that we need in these times - they should be being promoted by standard practices. One winner (Learning Pool) has saved the government £30m over the past two years - why do they have to pitch again? Why are they not being rolled out as best practice? More information here. A good idea, but again more needs to be done.

Progress on PQQs

The coalition government is changing a great many things at the moment, and that means that some initiatives are getting very little attention. One that may have passed you by relates to my old favourite topic of PQQ forms.
The government has mandated all central government departments to use a standard PQQ form, and only attach additional questions if absolutely necessary. Of course this is pretty much what OGC guidance on good practice has suggested for years, but it is good to see it being mandated rather than just suggested.
It may seem insignificant, but the time and effort to fill in PQQs can be a significant blocker for smes and micros in applying for business in the public sector. Even filling in forms requiring the same information but in a different order can discourage businesses from applying. You might say that if that puts them off then they are not the sort of company we want supplying the public sector. I would rather think of it as encouraging completion, and not needlessly discouraging it for no good reason.
A standard PQQ form makes it easy to bid to be considered – and that can only lead to more competition in tendering. Remember all we are doing is establishing whether firms should be invited to put in a formal tender submission. If additional information is really required to establish that, then there is no reason not to ask it – but after the standard portion of the PQQ. It will save each bidder only a few minutes, and each buyer only a few minutes, but the cumulative effect will be much greater.
There are of course much bigger issues in public sector procurement, but this one is so easy to fix it should be mandated across other authorities too. At the moment we are waiting to see whether this will be picked up outside of central government.

In Scotland they have already taken up this issue and are undertaking a consultation on establishing a standard PQQ which will be held on a central database so that it only has to be completed once. Details are here. This is a real step forward, and I look forward to it being implemented. Hopefully it will be taken up by other UK governments.

The outlook from SMEs

I have been running a number of workshops for SMEs in the North and Midlands this month, around Tendering, PQQs and the opportunities from London 2010.
As part of that I have asked how many businesses have seen their turnover increase over the past 12 months, during the recession. More than half indicated that it had, and I would guess about a quarter said turnover went down. That is better than I expected, and certainly better than you would expect if you took the media at face value.

Now this group of businesses is hardly a fully representative sample of the sme community - they are ones prepared to invest time and money in attending seminars about business opportunities and how to improve. So maybe I should expect them to be doing well even in difficult conditions. However they were not insolvency practictioners either, so they have got there despite the economy not because of it.
It made me feel more confident about the strength of the UK Small business sector. I hope that I am right.

SME business, public sector procurement and recession

Last week I ran a couple of sessions for SME businesses on PQQs and Tender writing for public sector contracts. We had over 100 businesses over the 2 sessions (which are running again in Leeds at the end of the month), and they were a lively group with lots of interesting questions and points of views.

Two points stood out for me. The first is the one that I have raised many times before of the need for a standardised PQQ form for all public sector contracts. The OGC template is fine as long as all public sector bodies use it in the same form. Ideally the information would be centrally held, but let's not be too idealistic. But the use of a standard form would be simple and easy.

The second issue is the impact of the recession on company turnovers. It has been a hard year or two for many companies, and turnovers are often down on previous years. There is a concern that this may be a negative for some public sector buyers, who will be worried that the companies are not financially secure. If it is a universal downturn (and it will not be) then everyone will be in the same place, but realistically good companies may also have had a deterioration in their trading position and it may make them look weaker than they really are. The second part of this is that for many contacts there is a requirement that the bidders turnover must be a multiple of the contract value i.e. the contract can make up no more than say 25% of turnover in any one year. If turnover is down, then the value of contracts that a company can bid for will be lower, which will in turn reduce the potential turnover in future. A tricky cycle could be established. It may not be an issue for most companies, but it will surely effect some. A little leighway may be necessary when drafting requirements - when the PQQ and ITT are written it is too late.

Supply The National SME Engagement Programme - Workshop

I shall be delivering 2 seminars on Wednessday 3rd March 2010 on behalf of BiP Solutions. These will cover Effective Tender Writing, and Understanding Pre-Qualification Questionnaires.

The venue is the Stuart Hotel, 119 London Road, Derby. Details are here. The cost is £75+VAT per delegate for each event.

I shall be presenting the same two seminars at the Jury's Inn in Leeds on 24th March 2010. Same price, details are here.