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Pre-qualification questionnaire

In the same way that applying for a job means being short listed for an interview, we often require companies interested in a tender opportunity to be short listed to receive tender documents.

Occasionally you will be asked within the tender advert to submit certain documents, such as insurance certficates or company accounts. However, in most instances you will be required to complete and return a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ).

Details of the pre-qualification questionnaire

Although we are constantly reviewing our procedures, it becomes very diffcult to link together information collected as part of the tendering process for different contracts, that may be let by different departments within the council. As a public body spending public money, we have to be able to provide a full audit trail of each and every purchase we make.

We generally offer to provide our PQQs in an electronic version, with the questionnaire element in the majority of cases being the same. It should not be to difficult for contractors to maintain an electronic version on their own systems for updating, modifying and sending back to us.

As e-Government, e-Procurement and e-Tendering become the standard and all tenders are let, managed and filed electronically, the requirement to continually return PQQs is likely to be reduced. In the meantime, we continue to strive to ensure that the information we require within our PQQs is kept to the minimum required to evaluate contractors equally and fairly when forming a short list of tenderers.

There are a number of ways in which you can improve your chances of being successful in passing the initial PQQ stage.

The first is being prepared for tenders as they are due for release, such as keeping an eye on the Contracts Register and the contract expiry date of the contracts your company may be interested in. Please be aware that many contacts often have a built in extension period that may only be awarded within days of the advised expiry date.

When expressing an interest or completing a PQQ, ensure you follow the instructions issued. Answer all the questions, return all documents/evidence requested and make sure this is provided in the format required.

Do not answer the questions by sending in company annual reports/brochures that require the evaluation team to search for the information required.

Be honest and open, if you are unable to answer a question give the reason why.

Failure to follow these two points can severely restrict your chances and may even result in your application being dismissed.

A copy of our standard PQQ can be viewed below.

Policies

Prospective suppliers should also make themselves familiar with our policies in regards to insurance, health and safety, equalities and environmental issues within a contracting environment. For more information, you can use the link to right.

Common Values Partnership

Consider carrying out a self-assessment under the Common Values Partnership initiative and applying for accreditation. The scheme is voluntary and open to all areas of the business community who are willing to work with us to deliver community based improvements, while at the same time assisting them to develop their business in a way which is considered to be best practice. For more information, you can use the link to right.

Associated documents:

  Standard PQQ  (0.09 MB)