Important changes to SQUID from Thursday 26th February.

The new Public Contracts Regulations will come into force on Thursday 26th February. Part 4 of the Regulations, concerning the Lord Young reforms, will not apply to bodies in Wales whose functions are wholly or mainly Welsh devolved functions, so use of the SQuID is still required in Wales. The SQuID question set has now been amended in line with the new Regulations and is being translated. The English version is attached.

If you are a SQuID user, please note that there are some significant changes to the SQuID content and that SQuID version 2 should NOT be used from Thursday 26 February. These changes include:

1. The question set will be around 30% shorter than version 2;

2. The Supplier Acceptability questions have been amended to align with the new Regulations;

3. In most cases questions requiring textual or numeric answers are replaced by “yes/no” questions confirming that suppliers meet criteria that must be set out clearly by buyers in the “guidance for bidders”. Suppliers are then advised that they “must be in a position to provide evidence, if required, and without delay to confirm this prior to contract award”. In many cases suppliers are then given the option to submit their evidence immediately if they wish. This is in line with the Regulations referring to the forthcoming ESPD document which allows bidders the opportunity to self-certify that they meet the necessary criteria. Evidence should be collected and assessed on the successful bidder prior to contract award.

4. Functionality to allow suppliers to demonstrate any self-cleaning they have done – even for mandatory exclusions - on a case by case basis. At this stage they have only amended the question set (Part 3 of the Word documents) and this will be circulated once translated, and not the guidance in Parts 1 and 2. They have not had the opportunity to consult widely on the new question set, due to the very short timescales between the Regulations being finalised and coming into force, so if users spot any errors or problems with the new question set they would be very grateful if you would contact them directly so they can put things right. They have also updated the Squizard questions and logic and these are being uploaded for use in Sell2Wales and on eTenderwales. The new question set will also be available on Sell2Wales shortly.

Timescales for completing this technical work are not known at present, but the work should be complete within the next few weeks. The Guidance (Parts 1 and 2 of the Word documents) will be updated and circulated shortly. For those who responded to the recent consultation on version 2 and the Business Continuity questions please note that due to time constraints we have concentrated only on amends that are needed now in the light of the new Regulations, and will include material on Business Continuity at a later stage.

They will continue to update you on a regular basis, if you have any questions please contact the Value Wales Policy Mailbox

Download: New SQuID Question Set - v3 - Feb 2015

Rural Regeneration Conference Creating Sustainable Rural Communities Thursday 19^th March, 2015 #ruralregen

CREW Regeneration Wales and Community Housing Cymru and are holding a Rural Regeneration Conference on Thursday 19^th March in Cefn Lea Park Conference Centre, Newtown.   

Faced with declining or threatened local services, limited job opportunities, not enough affordable housing and looming public expenditure cuts, we need new ways to sustain the quality of life in rural communities. The day will explore innovative approaches to creating sustainable rural communities, with a focus on local services, housing, economy, sustainability and inclusion.

This conference is intended to be a forum, discussion and networking place for anyone with an interest in rural areas from professionals to policy makers, volunteers to front line staff. The conference will take you through a range of best practice examples and ensure you are up to date with the latest developments and opportunities across a range of areas relevant to the functioning of vibrant rural communities.

The conference will welcome:

Lesley Griffiths AM, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty

Steve Jones, Tai Ceredigion

Mrs Delyth Evans, Chair of the Teifi Valley Implementation Group

Professor Terry Marsden, Cardiff University

Gerallt Llewellyn Jones, Menter Môn and CREW Board member

The conference features 10 workshops exploring a number of important areas: inclusive communities, rural economy, housing, renewable energy, transport, town centre development and digital inclusion.

The cost per delegate is £60.00

Translation services will be available during the conference and keynote addresses. 

The full programme and booking information are now available on both the CHC and CREW websites.