Apprenticeship Training Providers – DPS (Ref: 2022/S 000-010805)

In April 2017 the way the government funds apprenticeships in England changed - employers with a pay bill over £3 million per annum are required to contribute to an apprenticeship levy. Since 1st May 2017, employers have been able to use their levy funds to cover the costs of apprenticeship training, assessment and certification. Public sector organisations, including the NHS, will need to comply with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 when selecting a provider/assessment organisation, as well as adhere to their own organisational Standing Financial Instructions. The DPS has now been extended until April 2024.

• The East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub (the Hub) can provide a formal procurement service
• Shortened procurement time as the advertisement in OJEU and PQQ stage has already been undertaken
• The DPS encourages competition as local providers can apply to get on the DPS during its period of validity
• Procuring organisations can develop their own specification, utilising pre-developed templates, to meet their own requirements and formulate their award criteria more precisely
• Award of individual contracts can be quicker than other procedures with the minimum time limit for return of tenders being 10 days
• Training providers must meet minimum criteria to be awarded on the DPS to ensure only providers of high-quality apprenticeship delivery are eligible to take part in mini-competitions
• A full suite of mini competition templates is available to ease the competition process, and the Hub will provide help and support in running mini-competitions

Dynamic Purchasing System