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A Selection Questionnaire (SQ) is a standardised document used in UK public procurement to assess suppliers' suitability before inviting them to tender, covering financial standing, technical capacity, and exclusion grounds.
A Selection Questionnaire (SQ) is a standardised document used by UK public sector organisations to assess whether potential suppliers meet the minimum requirements to participate in a procurement process before being invited to submit a full tender response.
The SQ serves as a pre-qualification tool that enables contracting authorities to shortlist capable suppliers whilst reducing the administrative burden on both buyers and suppliers. Rather than requiring all interested parties to prepare detailed tender responses, the SQ filters out unsuitable candidates early in the process, ensuring only qualified suppliers proceed to the invitation to tender (ITT) stage.
The questionnaire typically covers three main assessment areas: exclusion grounds (such as criminal convictions or serious professional misconduct), economic and financial standing (including turnover requirements and insurance levels), and technical and professional ability (relevant experience, qualifications, and capacity to deliver the contract).
Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, contracting authorities must use proportionate selection criteria that relate to the subject matter of the contract. The regulations specify mandatory exclusion grounds where suppliers must be rejected (such as convictions for organised crime or fraud) and discretionary grounds where authorities may choose to exclude suppliers (such as significant professional misconduct).
The SQ must be published alongside the contract notice, giving suppliers sufficient time to prepare their responses. Evaluation criteria should be clearly defined and applied consistently across all submissions to ensure transparency and fairness in the selection process.
To promote consistency across the public sector, standardised SQ templates are available through various procurement frameworks. These templates help ensure compliance with regulations whilst reducing preparation time for both buyers and suppliers familiar with the standard format.
When designing an SQ, contracting authorities should ensure questions are proportionate to the contract value and complexity, avoid discriminating against SMEs or new market entrants, and clearly specify any minimum thresholds or requirements that suppliers must meet to proceed to the next stage.