The selection questionnaire (SQ/PQQ) in care tenders
The selection questionnaire, formerly the pre-qualification questionnaire, is the pass-fail stage that checks whether you are eligible to bid. It covers financial standing, minimum turnover, insurance levels, grounds for exclusion, and basic capability and compliance. It is mostly not scored on quality: you either meet each requirement or you are excluded. Clearing the SQ cleanly is what gets your quality answers read at the next stage.
What the SQ checks
The SQ confirms identity and basic company details, financial standing and minimum turnover, the required insurances, and that you are not subject to mandatory or discretionary grounds for exclusion. It also asks about relevant experience and core policies such as safeguarding, health and safety, equalities and data protection. Most of it is a yes or no compliance check rather than a scored answer. The purpose is to confirm you are a fit, lawful and financially viable organisation before the buyer invests time reading your quality responses.
Exclusion grounds and self-cleansing
The SQ asks whether any mandatory or discretionary exclusion grounds apply, covering matters such as certain convictions, unpaid taxes, grave professional misconduct or serious past contract failures. If a ground applies, you may be able to set out self-cleansing measures showing you have addressed it. Leaving these declarations blank or answering carelessly is a common cause of exclusion, so answer every exclusion question honestly and in full, and complete any self-cleansing section where it is relevant to you.
Why providers fail at this stage
Common failures are missing a turnover threshold, holding insurance below the stated level, an unanswered mandatory question, an out-of-date policy, or a self-cleansing declaration left blank. A single missed pass-fail item ends the bid before anyone reads your quality answers. Many of these are avoidable with a careful read: the SQ rewards accuracy and completeness rather than persuasion, and the providers who fail it usually did so on a detail they could have checked in advance.
The SQ under the Procurement Act 2023
Since the Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025, replacing the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the principles of the selection stage continue: buyers screen suppliers on financial standing, capability and exclusion grounds before assessing the award criteria. Some terminology and notice requirements have changed under the new central digital platform, but the practical job is the same. Read each tender's instructions, because buyers word and structure their selection requirements in their own way.
Getting it right the first time
Read every requirement against your real position before you start writing. If you fall short on turnover or insurance, you usually need to fix that before bidding rather than argue it during the bid. Keep a current pack ready: accounts, insurance certificates, policy documents and standard company information, so you are not assembling them under deadline pressure. Our free eligibility check flags SQ-stage problems, the gates you do not yet clear, before you commit time to the wider tender.
SQ pass-fail checklist
The core items the selection questionnaire checks. Each is typically pass-fail.
| Item | What is checked | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Financial standing | Stability and minimum turnover | Filed or audited accounts |
| Insurance | Required cover levels | Certificates or a commitment to obtain |
| Exclusion grounds | Mandatory and discretionary grounds | Declarations, self-cleansing where relevant |
| Policies | Safeguarding, health and safety, equalities, data protection | Current policy documents |
| Experience | Relevant delivery capability | Contract examples or references |
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Common questions
What is the difference between an SQ and a PQQ?
They are the same stage. The standard selection questionnaire (SQ) replaced the older pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) terminology, though many providers still say PQQ. Both screen eligibility before the scored quality stage.
Is the SQ scored?
Mostly no. The core SQ is pass-fail: you meet each requirement or you are excluded. Some buyers score a small experience section, but financial, insurance and compliance items are eligibility gates, not quality marks.
What happens if I fail one SQ question?
A failed mandatory pass-fail question usually excludes the whole bid, so your quality answers are never assessed. That is why checking turnover, insurance and exclusion grounds in advance is essential before you write anything.
What is self-cleansing in a selection questionnaire?
It is the chance to show that, although an exclusion ground may apply, you have taken steps to put it right, such as paying outstanding tax or fixing the failure that caused a past problem. Completing it properly can keep you in the process where a ground would otherwise exclude you.
Do I submit the same SQ for every tender?
Not exactly. Much of the company information repeats, so a maintained core pack helps, but each buyer sets its own thresholds, required cover levels and specific questions. Always check and tailor the figures and declarations to the tender in front of you.
Can a newly registered provider pass the SQ?
Often yes. Where you cannot show a long financial track record, buyers may accept alternative assurance, a parent company guarantee or other evidence of standing. Read how each tender treats new providers rather than assuming you are excluded.
Keep reading
Browse all care tender guides, or see care tender writing by service.
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