The Single Procurement Document or SPD is a standard questionnaire that contains questions used at the selection stage of a procurement exercise i.e. it allows procurement officers to ask questions to identify suitably qualified and experienced bidders for their procurement. This is ensure that public money is spent with lawful, capable and stable suppliers.
Questions in the SPD are generic. In some cases, the procurement officer must add to the standard SPD selection questions with specific minimum requirements. Procurement officers must ensure that any such requirements are proportionate to the value and risk of the contract, and are not demanding for bidders.
You will use your SPD response to indicate whether your organisation can meet the requirements of the procurement exercise.
The SPD questionnaire is a self-declaration form which means bidders do not need to provide any evidence upfront unless there are clear reasons for doing so.
The SPD template used by public sector procurement officers can be found in the Procurement Journey.
An SPD is:
The SPD will be issued to bidders in either of two separate procedures:
The SPD questionnaire is split into 3 sections:
Bidder Information: |
this section will ask you information about your organisation. This includes questions on:
|
Exclusion Questions: |
these questions ask about:
These questions are assessed on a pass/fail basis and if you have committed any offences you will be given an opportunity to provide details of any remedial action you have taken |
Selection Questions: |
these questions focus on topics such as:
In some instances, the procurement officer will provide minimum requirements to complete the generic question. For example, if a procurement exercise requires insurance cover the procurement officer will provide information on the levels of insurance cover required. |
You should answer all questions truthfully and if you need further clarification, contact the procurement officer.
Where you are relying on others to meet the selection criteria for your bid (for example you are bidding as part of a consortium or you are using a sub contractor) you need to complete a separate SPD response from each of the organisations/groups you are relying on to make your bid.
Each organisation/group must complete the exclusion criteria section of the SPD and whichever selection questions you are relying on them for.
If you are using a sub-contractor (but not relying on them to meet the selection criteria) each sub-contractor should complete an SPD response. In this instance, they will only need to complete the exclusion criteria.
The main bidder is responsible for collecting and submitting all of the SPD’s required as part of the bid being made.
All of the SPD responses will be evaluated alongside the main bidders’ SPD.
Quickfire Guide
The SPD is available in three formats. These are:
The SPD Word Document
PCS SPD Module
The SPD in PCS-Tender
Quickfire Guide
You should: