For most training and L&D providers, the first PQQ you meet will not be attached to a single contract. It will be the application to join a framework or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS): the form that decides whether you are on the list a council or NHS trust buys its training from.
PQQ stands for pre-qualification questionnaire. The formal name changed years ago, and the rules changed again in 2025, but providers and buyers still say "PQQ" for the questions that test whether you are a suitable supplier before anyone reads your programme design. This guide explains what those questions ask and how to prepare.
At a glance
- A PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) was the document buyers used to shortlist suppliers.
- It was replaced by the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ), set out in PPN 03/23 for procurements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
- Under the Procurement Act 2023 the same job is done by conditions of participation, supplier information on the Central Digital Platform and a procurement specific questionnaire.
- For a training provider, this stage is usually the framework or DPS application itself.
- It covers organisation details, exclusion grounds, financial standing, insurance and relevant experience.
What is a PQQ?
A pre-qualification questionnaire was completed at the start of a procurement so the buyer could check basic suitability (financial standing, capability, relevant experience) and shortlist who went forward to bid. In everyday use the PQQ meaning has widened to "the selection-stage questions", whatever the buyer calls its form.
The standard selection questionnaire
The Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ) replaced the PQQ as the standard template. The current version is set out in Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 03/23, which replaced PPN 08/16 and applies to above-threshold procurements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Its guidance says the questions are used, among other things, to pre-qualify suppliers to join a Dynamic Purchasing System.
Why it is now usually a framework or DPS application
Training buyers increasingly buy through frameworks and DPSs: you apply once, are approved, and are then invited to compete for individual contracts. The selection questionnaire is how you get approved.
DPSs set up under the old regulations keep running under those rules until the end date set when they were established, or 23 February 2029 at the latest, so a selection questionnaire is still what you complete to join one. Newer procurements under the Procurement Act 2023 use conditions of participation instead. There, your core supplier details sit on the Central Digital Platform, and the buyer adds a procurement specific questionnaire covering the rest. Government describes that questionnaire as fulfilling a similar role to the SQ.
Either way, the questions in this guide are the ones standing between you and the frameworks training buyers use, such as the Hull learning and training DPS and the Sunderland public health training DPS.
What the standard questions ask for
The SQ has three parts.
- Part 1: basic information about your organisation, and anyone you rely on to deliver.
- Part 2: exclusion grounds, self-declarations covering matters such as serious criminal offences and failure to pay tax.
- Part 3: financial standing and technical ability. Expect to provide your accounts or an alternative if you are newly trading, and to confirm insurance.
On insurance, the guidance tells buyers to let you self-certify that you have, or will have, the required cover if you win, and to set the level case by case. Check each buyer's requirement and line your policies up early (see our insurance, ICO and DBS checklist for training providers).
On references, the standard question asks for up to three relevant contract examples from the past three years for services, from the public, private or voluntary sector, each with a named contact who can confirm the details. For a training provider that means three programmes like the one being bought, with a client willing to take the call.
Optional questions cover health and safety (a business with fewer than five employees is not legally required to write down a health and safety policy, and should not be marked down for that), data protection where you will handle personal data such as learner records, and in some cases carbon reduction.
Safeguarding is not one of the standard questions. Where your training involves children or adults at risk, expect the buyer to add its own questions on safeguarding policy and DBS checks for trainers. Data security questions often go alongside them (see Cyber Essentials for training providers).
Selection is not award
This stage checks that you are suitable. It is separate from the award stage, where your programme and price are scored (see how bids are scored). For many framework applications both stages happen in one submission, so read the documents to see which questions are pass or fail and which are scored.
Tips for the selection stage
- Keep a bid library. Insurance certificates, accounts, policies, case studies and trainer CVs are the same on every application.
- Keep evidence current. Insurance, accreditations and DBS checks go out of date; refresh them before the deadline, not during it.
- Read the specific questionnaire. Buyers adapt the standard questions, and they add their own.
Do this work once, properly. A well-kept bid library turns the next framework application from a fortnight of scrambling into an afternoon of assembly.
Frequently asked questions
What does PQQ stand for?
Pre-qualification questionnaire: the document buyers used to shortlist suitable suppliers before the bidding stage. It was replaced by the Standard Selection Questionnaire, and under the Procurement Act 2023 by conditions of participation and a procurement specific questionnaire.
What is a PQQ for a training provider?
In practice it is usually the application to join a framework or dynamic purchasing system. It checks your organisation details, exclusion grounds, financial standing, insurance and relevant experience before you can compete for individual training contracts.
What is the difference between a PQQ and an SQ?
The SQ is the standardised replacement for the PQQ. It is set out in PPN 03/23 and used for procurements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, including applications to join DPSs set up under those regulations.
How many references does a selection questionnaire ask for?
The standard question asks for up to three relevant contract examples from the past three years for services, from the public, private or voluntary sector, each with a named contact who can confirm the details.
Is the selection questionnaire the same as the tender?
No. Selection checks whether you are suitable. The award stage is where your programme and price are scored, though a framework application often asks for both in one submission.
Sources
- GOV.UK — PPN 03/23: Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ)
- GOV.UK — Procurement Policy Note 8/16: Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ) template
- Procurement Pathway (Civil Service) — PA 2023 procurement specific questionnaire
- GOV.UK — Guidance: transitional and saving arrangements (Procurement Act 2023)