PA2023 - PSQ (Procurement Specific Questionnaire) & Share Code

In order for main suppliers to share their code to provide Supplier Information, Contracting Authorities will need to retrieve their Buyer API Token/Key from CDP and submit this on Panacea. This is required for Panacea, an e-Sender, to pull the information for the Supplier on your behalf.

Information on the PSQ (Procurement Specific Questionnaire)

The information below is taken from official guidance found here. This has the most up-to-date guidance and documentation for the PSQ, as published by the government.

1. The Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) has been designed by the Government to support CA (Contracting Authorities) to comply with & operate effectively under the new regime. The PSQ fulfils a similar role to the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ) used under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR). The PSQ complements existing guidance for the Procurement Act 2023 and also central government policies and best practice, including Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Notes and Playbooks.
   • The Procurement Regulations 2024 change the way suppliers share certain information: This includes the requirements on CA's to obtain confirmation from suppliers that they have registered, submitted & shared up-to-date core Supplier Information via the central digital platform (CDP).
2. The PSQ is relevant for above-threshold procurements under the Act, which commenced from 24th February 2025.
   1. It does not apply to procurements commenced (or contracts awarded) before 24/02/2025 .
   2. It does not apply to contracts awarded via frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems (DPS) or qualification systems under the previous regime. 

PA23 - PSQ Template & Supplier Share Code Question

We have added Tender Templates on all relevant sites for the PA23 PSQ (Procurement Specific Questionnaire) so that our subscribers can start updating/building their new Tender Templates in accordance with the legislation. 

Supplier "Share Code" Question

To support the legislation, we have created a Question type in Tender Questionnaires called Share Code. This will ask the suppliers to provide their Supplier Share Code from CDP (there will also be a link to CDP so that the supplier can easily navigate to CDP to obtain the code/update their details).

N.B. This Question Type will always be mandatory when asked. 

Through the API, the software will gather the Supplier Information that has been provided by the Supplier. It will then present this information in a pop-out snapshot to the Supplier to check the information when filling out their response. It will also present as a pop-out snapshot to the Contracting Authority/evaluators when evaluating the response. 

Within the "Part 1 - Confirmation of Supplier Information" section, we have designed the template so that the main supplier can choose to either provide their Share Code through the API, OR if they are unable to do this, to provide an upload of their information from the CDP. 

For the details of associated persons (including sub-contractors), these suppliers do not have to provide all of the Supplier information from CDP like the main Supplier does as this is not required under the legislation. As such, we strongly recommend asking the main supplier to provide zip files of the relevant files for their associated persons, rather than using the Share Code type. This is how we have designed the template. 

Things to note:

• We have built the template in accordance with the latest version of the PSQ published by the Government in late December 2024. The Government are still making edits to the PSQ, so we advise all Contracting Authorities to monitor this link.
• The Share Code Question (for "Part 1 - Confirmation of Supplier Information") is available on your site, but the API will not go live until the 24th February 2025. You will then be able to update your templates/ draft Tender Questionnaires with this Question type. 
  • Reminder: For this to work, you must ensure that you have submitted your Buyer API Token/Key onto Panacea. CDP requires e-Senders to use the Buyers API Token/Key in order to retrieve the Supplier Information. e-Senders are not authorised to do this without this. 
• The Debarment List URL referenced in the PSQ  in "Preliminary Questions" has not yet been published by the Government, and so is not provided in our template. The Government have advised this will be published on gov.uk and they will release communications to Contracting Authorities when this is active. It does not become live until 24th February 2025.
  • Please update your templates/ draft Tender Questionnaires with this URL when it is officially released by the Government.