PQQs, SQs and conditions of participation: what to have ready before you bid

Before a buyer looks at your price or your method statement, they check whether you are allowed to bid at all. That used to be the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), then the standard selection questionnaire (SQ). Under the Procurement Act 2023 it is "conditions of participation", supported by the information you store on the Central Digital Platform. Whatever it is called this year, it fails more small firms than any other stage, and almost always for avoidable reasons.

What they are checking

Four things: that you are a real, solvent business; that you are insured to the level they need; that you can do the work safely and lawfully; and that you have done similar work before. Nothing in that list requires you to be big.

Financial standing

Buyers usually look at turnover, sometimes with a rule that the contract value should not exceed a proportion of it, and at your last two years of filed accounts. If you are a young company, offer management accounts and a bank reference. If your accounts show a loss, add a one-paragraph explanation; a silent loss is a red flag, an explained one is usually fine.

Keep a simple one-page financial summary up to date: turnover for the last three years, net assets, and insurance levels. EstiMate's accounts produce the year-end figures directly from your jobs, so you are never guessing.

Insurance levels

Typical asks: public liability £5 million (sometimes £10 million for highways and rail), employer's liability £10 million, and professional indemnity £1 million to £2 million where any design is involved. Check your certificates against the notice before you spend time on the bid, and ask your broker about a temporary uplift if you are close.

Health and safety

Membership of a Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) scheme such as CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline Gold or SMAS is the quickest pass. If you do not have one, you will need a written health and safety policy, evidence of training (CSCS, SMSTS or SSSTS for supervisors, first aid), example RAMS, and accident statistics for the last three years. The Common Assessment Standard, held through Constructionline, CHAS and others, covers most buyers in one go.

Technical capability

Three contracts of a similar nature and value in the last three to five years, each with a client contact who will respond. Prepare them as a standard page each: client, value, dates, scope, what was tricky, outcome. Keep the contacts warm.

Mandatory and discretionary exclusions

You will be asked to confirm there have been no convictions, tax breaches, insolvency events or serious contract failures. Answer truthfully; a false declaration is grounds for exclusion from the new debarment list. Where something did happen and has been remedied, explain the self-cleaning measures.

Policies you should have written down

Equality and diversity, environmental, quality, modern slavery (required by law only above £36 million turnover, but asked for routinely), data protection, and anti-bribery. One to two pages each is enough. Date them, review them annually, and put the review date on the front.

Accreditations that open doors

• SSIP member scheme (CHAS, SafeContractor, SMAS, Acclaim)
• Constructionline Silver or Gold
• Trade bodies: NICEIC or NAPIT for electrical, Gas Safe for gas, FMB for building, BALI for landscaping, NFRC for roofing
• TrustMark for domestic government-backed schemes
• ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 for larger frameworks

Build the pack once

Put all of it in one folder with a contents page and a date. Every tender then starts with the pack attached and you spend your time on the parts that score. TenderPilot keeps your company pack alongside each tender you are tracking and flags which attachments the notice asks for, and the search itself is free: see the tenders open in your trade this week.