What is the Common Assessment Standard?

Designed by Build UK, the Common Assessment Standard was rolled out as part of PPN 03/24, and our bid and tender writers have already begun to notice it as part of tender submissions.

We explain the purposes of the Common Assessment Standard, what is included within the document and exemptions which should apply.

What is the purpose of the Common Assessment Standard?

As with other changes introduced by procurement policy notes, the Common Assessment Standard (CAS) has had wide-ranging changes to bid and tender writing. Ultimately, the benefits of the CAS include:

• Standardisation: the standardised template offered by the CAS provides an integrated question set all authorities can employ, ensuring a fair evaluation process.
• Efficiency: as a standard document, the CAS is specifically designed to minimise duplication and avoid minor differences in pre-qualification questionnaires.
• Transparency: by completing the CAS, all suppliers are aware of the requirements and can prepare in accordance with them.

Guidance included in PPN 03/24 stipulates that it should be used for construction tenders with a contract value exceeding £5.337 million.

However, contracting authorities can use their discretion in applying it for other industries, or bids for contracts which do not meet this value threshold. Other sectors like fire safety and security, gas servicing and maintenance or asbestos may also utilise the CAS.

What is included in the Common Assessment Standard?

As with its predecessor the PAS91 and Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ), the CAS includes a series of pre-qualifying questions to establish minimum levels of competency, in addition to self-confirmation questions regarding mandatory and discretionary exclusions.

• Standard company information, such as your registered address, VAT number and details of persons of significant control
• Mandatory and discretionary exclusions which may automatically exclude bidders from the tender procedure
• Contract examples and other standard narrative responses, such as maintaining healthy supply chains, GDPR and health and safety
• Individual modules which require bidders to demonstrate their organisational processes and procedures, either through attaching policies or responding in narrative form.

Similar to the PAS91, different tables can be included or excluded depending on what the contracting authority feels is relevant to the procurement.

For example, Section 4: Health and Safety, Section 5: Environmental and Section 6: Quality are likely to be included in most or all CAS submissions – however, Section 8: Fairness, Inclusion and Respect may only be included in some instances.

Exemptions which apply to the Common Assessment Standard

Certain exemptions will allow you to bypass certain sections of the CAS document, minimising the administrative burden on bidder organisations. Examples of exemptions include:

• CHAS, Constructionline, or Achilles with specific levels (e.g. CHAS Elite) confirming the organisation is certified to the requirements of the CAS – you will normally need to complete a data request form
• ISO 9001, 14001 or 45001 accreditation, mitigating the need to respond to standardised questions around your quality, environmental or health and safety management system
• Cyber Essentials Plus certification, confirming your organisation is certified to information security standards.

As above, it is important to note that the CAS can be adaptable to the specific requirements of the opportunity and the preferences of the buyer – therefore underscoring the importance of carefully reviewing the document in detail. You may not have to complete the CAS at all on some occasions, with buyers providing additional question sets specific to each tender.

For example, high-risk residential buildings which fall under the remit of the Building Safety Act 2022 may include a table requiring narrative responses, such as how bidders will support maintaining the ‘golden thread’ of information.

Completing the Common Assessment Standard

Failure to successfully complete the CAS could result in a noncompliant or disqualified bid. To ensure you fully understand the requirements of each CAS, we recommend you complete the following:

• Review the CAS in detail as part of your bid planning prior to drafting quality responses or completing documents
• Make note of which questions require narrative and which can be satisfied through an attachment or appendix
• Apply for exemptions using the data request form provided by CHAS, Constructionline or Achilles well in advance of the deadline
• Save any narrative responses for subsequent reuse, minimising time spent on responses to repetitive questions.

We always advise raising a clarification with the authority well in advance of the submission deadline if any requirements are unclear.

Supporting with completing the Common Assessment Standard

In addition to writing narrative responses to quality questions or method statements, completion of pre-qualification documents falls under the scope of the bid writing services we provide.

If you are struggling to complete narrative responses to the CAS or just need an additional pair of eyes to facilitate a compliant submission, contact our sales and marketing team at info@executivecompass.co.uk to discuss how we can support you.