The two most important templates released so far are the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) replacement, now known as the Procurement Specific Questionnaire, and the Competitive Flexible Procurement template.

The latter, while helpful to use as a foundation, still leaves a lot of detail to be designed by the contracting authority, particularly in regards to the technical and operational design of the process. The template outlines the headings that should be included but is limited to in how the information under these headings should be structured. This means that contracting authorities will still need to review the Act, the regulations and any technical guidance to ensure all details are included.

The Procurement Specific Questionnaire is not mandatory, unlike the current SQ. In reality, the new template is not much different to the format of the SQ in that it is split into three parts and the questions are split by categories. While not visible, it is likely that this template in its current drafted format will be built into the Atamis process templates and can then be amended on a case-by-case basis. As suppliers are familiar with providing information in this format, I would recommend using this template as a foundation for your procurements to help ease the transition for both suppliers and yourselves.

The templates can be found in the ‘Procure’ stage on the Procurement Pathway website.

Useful resources

A number of legal providers have recently published helpful articles on the Procurement Act, with a selection of them listed below:

As ever, please get in touch if you have any questions regarding the Procurement Act, the Provider Selection Regime or procurement legislation.