Get fit to bid tool V2

Step 1 of 5

20%

Basic Information

Company Name(Required)

Year Established(Required)

Number of Employees(Required)

Business Postcode(Required)

Are you looking to tender with any of the following bodies?

Sector

Supplier Information

What is your trading status?

Not yet trading

Start-up

Registered and active in chosen field

Confirmation of your trading status is important as it may impact on the level and type of insurances required – e.g as a sole trader you will be personally liable for all work whereas in a limited company the risk will be taken on by the firm.

Are you registered with the appropriate professional, trade registers and / or regulators?

I do not know which organisations I should be registered with

I know the appropriate professional trade body or regulator for the work of my organisation, and I am in the process of registering

I know the appropriate professional and trade registers for the work of my organisation and have registered with them

Organisations might include National Care Association / Ofsted / CQC/ Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) / National Taxi Association bodies

If you carry away waste, do you have a licence?

We don’t carry away waste in the course of our work

We do carry away waste and have a waste carrier licence

We do carry away waste but don’t have a waste carrier licence

Please apply for a licence at https://www.gov.uk/register-renew-waste-carrier-broker-dealer-england.

Bidding Model

Do you have other suppliers who you could tender with to deliver a contract?

No, I have not considered this

I have other suppliers that I work with to extend our offer, but with no formal relationship in place

I have other suppliers that I have a formal relationship in place with, and we have a proven successful partnership

“Contract providers need to understand who will deliver the contract. If you intend to work with partners and suppliers to deliver the contract, then you need to provide assurance of your formal relationship as this helps the Public Sector understand the risk of contract with an organisation”

Will you be working with sub-contractors to deliver requirements?

I do work with sub-contractors, if needed

I have an established supply-chain that I have been fostering successful partnerships with to deliver contracts for a number of years

“Contract providers need to understand who will deliver the contract. If you intend to work with a partner to deliver the contract then you need to provide information about that when bidding – the Council will only contract with the lead bidder though and the lead bidder will be responsible for any sub-contractors they use to deliver the contract.

Exclusion Grounds

Procurement law has strict regulations about who is a fit and proper person or organisation that can be awarded a contract. There are a long list of offences that are contained in procurement law that would prevent someone from being awarded a contract, including such things as Modern Slavery, bankruptcy, fraud, organised crime, bribery, money laundering, drug trafficking and others

Neither the company nor anyone in a position of control in the company has ever been convicted of a serious offence

We have been convicted of an offence, or one of our directors has, but aren’t sure whether it is regarded as serious enough for exclusion from bidding.

We or one of our directors has had a serious conviction and will check the procurement regulations to see if we might be excluded from bidding or if appropriate we are able to demonstrate what we have done to put matters right.

“Contract providers need to understand who will deliver the contract. Please review https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/regulation/57/made for information about the offences covered. The type of offence will affect whether it is mandatory grounds for exclusion, or discretionary grounds for exclusion.

Economic & Financial

Do you have company accounts?

I have no accounts, but may be able to secure a bank reference, and could provide a forecast of turnover for the current year

I am able to provide a statement of turnover, profit and loss accounts, income statements, balance sheets etc for the most recent year of trading for this organisation

I am able to supply the most recent two years of audited accounts

Public sector organisations may set a limit of the contract compared to an organisations turnover. This is due to the risk of overwhelming an organisation, or destabilisation, or reliance on a sole source of income.

Do you understand the maximum size limit of a contract you would bid for?

Yes, low value contracts / No, I will bid for anything!

I have an understanding of the requirements I could risk tendering for

I understand the risk I would be willing to take on which is considerable due to the level of turnover, and / or are able to take on increased risk by working with partners.

Are you prepared to buy relevant insurance?

I already have insurance but understand that the council may require a minimum level or different insurance, depending on what they are buying

I have some insurance but don’t really know what insurance I might need to win work for the Council

I don’t have any insurance

You will need insurance to cover your liabilities in the event that something goes wrong, regardless of whether you are working for the Council or not. The Council will tell you what it requires for each contract and will give you the opportunity to buy it, in the event you are awarded a contract, rather than requiring you to purchase it up front.

Technical & Professional

Are you able to provide relevant contract examples and references?

No, I have not worked in this field before

I am able to provide limited relevant contract examples and references, or I am able to provide relevant contract examples and references from similar contracts / experience with transferable skills

Yes I am able to provide at least three directly relevant contract examples with referees who are willing to be contacted by the contracting authority

Public sector organisations will need to understand the experience or track record of the organisation in order to ascertain whether they have sufficient experience to deliver the services they want to buy.

Do you have a Modern Slavery policy?

No – this requirement is not applicable to my organisation / no – I do not have this policy

I understand what is required under the Modern Slavery Act, and we are currently developing a policy, or do not require a policy sue to the size of my organisation

The organisation does have a Modern Slavery Policy, which we are able to evidence, is audited regularly within our organisation and that of our partners / sub-contractors and supplychain

“Further information on the Modern Slavery Act 2015 can be found here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/contents/enacted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Slavery_Act_2015”

Do you have an environmental policy?

No / the organisation has been prosecuted or served notice under environmental legislation in the last 3 years

Not a formal policy, but we are able to demonstrate initiatives which the company undertakes / we are currently writing a policy and are committed to environmental legislation

Yes, we have a policy and are able to demonstrate with evidence an organisation which has embedded the policy into its values and behaviours, and that we only work with like minded organisations (sub-contractors and suppliers)

Environmental policy is the commitment of an organisation or government, to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. With more of a focus on being environmentally friendly. Public sector bodies now look for contracting partners to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Do you have the required Health & Safety provisions and policy?

Yes, we provide H&S training to our staff, have relevant policies that we review regularly and enforce, access to expertise and have risk assessments in place for everything we do

We have policies in place but have received enforcement action which we can demonstrate we have succesfully addressed. / We have policies in place but they could do to be updated and we should think about providing our staff with some refresher training / we have policies in place that are up to date

We don’t have a policy and risk assessments

For businesses with fewer than five employees a Health & Safety Policy is not needed. However, larger companies require Health & Safety policies and public sector bodies require these as part of any procurement contract to safeguard workers rights. Further information on Health & Safety policies can be found here http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/managing/writing.htm

Do you have the required Equal Opportunities & Diversity Provisions and policy?

No – the organisation has received an unlawful discrimination finding by an Employment Appeal Tribunal or any other court in the last three years

Yes, we have a policy but have received an unlawful discrimination finding, which we can demonstrate we have successfully addressed / Yes, we have a policy

Yes, we have a policy and are able to demonstrate with evidence an organisation which has embedded the policy into its values and behaviours, and that we only work with like minded sub-contractors and suppliers.

An Equal Opportunities Policy is a formal manifesto that sets out an organisation’s commitment to fairness. There are numerous benefits to a Equal Opportunities Policy and public sector bodies look to award contracts to companies that have this policy in place. Further information is available at https://www.eoc.org.uk/equal-opportunities-policy/

Are you compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR?

Yes, we understand the DPA and GDPR, have policies and processes in place for handling and storing personal information and handling Subject Access Requests, and know where our servers that store our data are located

We aren’t sure where our cloud storage is based

We don’t really understand the DPA or GDPR or know how to handle a DPA breach

Please see guidance on the Information Commissioner website https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/introduction-to-data-protection/introduction-to-data-protection/https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/introduction-to-data-protection/introduction-to-data-protection/. It is important to know where any servers you store personal information on are physically located due to GDPR concerns about data being handled outside of the European Economic Area.