Short answer: do not treat a framework place as proof that a contractor is suitable for your project. Before a call-off, confirm that your authority and requirement are eligible, the correct lot covers the work, the framework’s award process is followed, and the contractor passes separate checks on exclusion status, financial resilience, technical ability, insurance and delivery risk. Then compare tenders against the published criteria and put monitoring, escalation and exit arrangements in the call-off contract.
This guide is grounded mainly in current England and UK guidance under the Procurement Act 2023. Devolved regimes, transitional arrangements, your authority’s status, the contract value and the framework terms can change the answer. Check the current law, procurement notices and framework documents that govern your purchase; this is practical guidance, not legal advice for a specific procurement.
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Why a framework appointment is not enough
A framework is a purchasing structure, not a guarantee that every listed supplier can deliver every project. It may contain several lots, geographic limits, value bands, service categories and different call-off rules. A contractor that was acceptable when the framework was established may also have changed its ownership, finances, workforce or supply chain.
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The call-off remains a procurement decision. You need an auditable explanation of why this framework is suitable, why the contractor is eligible, how the tender was assessed and how performance will be controlled. The Cabinet Office’s Framework Practice Guide says buyers should expand pre-procurement due diligence to include “a thorough check of the framework’s original setup.”
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Keep two questions separate throughout:
- Can this supplier participate? This covers exclusion grounds, legal and financial capacity, and technical ability.
- Which compliant offer is best for this call-off? This is decided using the published award criteria and assessment method.
Do not use an undisclosed suitability test to replace the stated tender evaluation, and do not award simply because a supplier is already on the framework.
1. Confirm that the framework is the right route
Check users, scope and the lot
Read the framework agreement, user schedules, lot descriptions, geographic coverage, term and value limits. Confirm that your public body is an eligible user and that the proposed construction, works or related service is within scope. Check whether ancillary design, maintenance, professional services or subcontracted elements fall inside the same lot or require another route.
Record the requirement in enough detail to test scope: location, work classification, estimated value, programme, interfaces with existing assets and any specialist elements. If the requirement is outside the lot, changing the description to make it fit creates legal and delivery risk.
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Identify the framework’s regulatory origin and governing notices. Review the provider’s procurement notice, framework documentation and available evaluation or setup information. The Framework Practice Guide gives particular emphasis to checking the original setup for frameworks that were not established under the current central framework arrangements.
Check that the framework has not expired, that extensions are permitted, and that the proposed call-off term does not run beyond what the agreement allows. Verify whether the provider has reserved rights to amend documents, add users or manage supplier suspension, and understand how those provisions affect your project.
Follow the required call-off method
Determine whether the framework requires a competition between all capable suppliers in the lot, a competition among a defined subset, or allows direct award. If competition is required, run it; if direct award is allowed, apply only the objective mechanism stated in the framework, such as a ranking or documented allocation formula. Keep the invitation, clarifications, scoring records and award decision together.
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Ask what support the framework provider supplies for notices, clarifications, supplier monitoring and contract administration. Price the provider’s charges and understand liability allocation, warranties, data responsibilities, insurance obligations and dispute provisions before issuing a call-off.
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Check the contractor’s current exclusion position at the stage required by the applicable regime. Under the Procurement Act 2023 learning guidance, authorities assess exclusion grounds before allowing a supplier to participate in a framework selection process. Recheck the position at call-off where the framework documents or circumstances require it, because the status may have changed.
Define the entities that are relevant to the assessment. This can include parent companies, consortium members, key subcontractors and other relied-upon entities. Obtain the declarations and evidence required by the framework process, and investigate any information that indicates a mandatory or discretionary exclusion ground.
Use a documented, proportionate process: identify the ground, assess the evidence, consider any self-cleaning or remedial information permitted by the regime, and record the decision and its reviewer. Do not impose an informal blacklist or reject a supplier for an unrelated concern that is not an applicable exclusion ground.
3. Test financial resilience against the commitment
Use evidence suited to the supplier
Request accounts where the supplier is legally required to prepare them. For a business that is not required to produce audited accounts, accept equivalent evidence that gives a reliable view of financial capacity. Depending on the risk, evidence may include management accounts, cash-flow information, credit data, parent support, details of bonding facilities or a credible explanation of unusual movements.
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Possible indicators include turnover, cash flow, debt-to-equity and liquidity. None is a universal pass-or-fail threshold: a ratio must be interpreted with the supplier’s business model, project profile, payment terms and other commitments. The Procurement Act guidance requires conditions of participation to be proportionate to the contract’s nature, complexity and cost; the Cabinet Office states this directly in Module 6: Supplier selection.
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Consider cumulative exposure
A framework supplier may win several call-offs at the same time. Assess the value of the proposed award alongside existing public and private commitments, mobilisation costs, retention exposure and any reliance on a parent or funder. Ask how the contractor will resource overlapping programmes and whether its working-capital facilities remain available after this award.
The Economic and Financial Standing of Suppliers guidance note recommends ongoing monitoring, not a one-off check. Set triggers for renewed information, such as a qualified audit opinion, late filing, covenant breach, material litigation, insolvency news or a sharp deterioration in liquidity.
Match the test to criticality
At call-off, confirm that the framework permits a financial assessment proportionate to the project’s criticality. If the framework gives you no practical way to test resilience for a high-criticality or high-consequence project, consider a different framework or procurement route rather than accepting an unmanageable gap.
4. Verify technical capacity and relevant performance
Ask for evidence that matches the work
Test the proposed contractor against the actual scope, site and programme, not against generic capability statements. Relevant evidence can include:
- Comparable contracts, references and verified past performance, including defects, delays, claims and client satisfaction where available.
- Named project managers, supervisors and specialist personnel, with qualifications, experience and availability for the stated dates.
- A realistic resource and plant schedule showing how capacity will be maintained during peak periods.
- Method statements, sequencing, temporary works arrangements, quality controls and commissioning plans.
- Professional credentials, accreditation or competence evidence relevant to the work. Allow equivalent qualifications and standards where the applicable rules require it.
- Health-and-safety systems, competence controls, incident management and evidence that site risks are understood.
- Data-protection and information-security arrangements where the project handles personal, operational or sensitive information.
- Environmental measures, waste controls and supply-chain arrangements where they are relevant to the specification.
Specify what each item must demonstrate, the period covered and the format required. Ask for audits, site visits or original records only when their cost and burden are proportionate to the risk. A polished policy document is not proof that the proposed team has delivered comparable work.
Check delivery location and timetable
Confirm that references are genuinely comparable in scale, complexity, occupied-site constraints, stakeholder environment and geography. Ask how the contractor will obtain local permits, manage interfaces and provide supervision at the required location. Challenge programmes that assume uninterrupted access, unlimited labour or unusually short lead times.
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Keep legacy PCR 2015 advice separate
If a procurement is genuinely governed by the older Public Contracts Regulations 2015 regime, the Cabinet Office’s Annex A guidance on the selection stage contains regime-specific advice, including use of the Common Assessment Standard for certain works procurements. That is not a universal requirement for a current Procurement Act procurement. Confirm the governing regime before applying any questionnaire or standard.
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Choose limits from the risk analysis
Set public liability, employers’ liability, professional indemnity, contractors’ all-risks or other cover by reference to the work, hazards, interfaces and likely loss, rather than copying a large limit from another contract. State the required cover, evidence and renewal obligations clearly, and check exclusions that could leave a critical risk uninsured.
Current Procurement Act guidance generally does not require contract-performance insurance to be in place before award. You may ask for evidence that the supplier can obtain the required cover after award, subject to the framework and contract terms. Treat legally mandated insurance separately and obtain specialist advice where a statutory requirement applies.
Make safety evidence practical
Ask how the contractor identifies and controls risks for this site: temporary works, lifting, traffic, excavations, utilities, asbestos, work at height, public access or occupied buildings as applicable. Look for competent appointments, supervision, emergency arrangements, incident learning and subcontractor controls. Scale the evidence to the work; the legacy PCR guidance also recognises that smaller employers may not hold the same written documentation as larger firms.
6. Compare compliant offers transparently
Publish the award criteria, weightings or assessment method required by the framework and apply them consistently. The following are useful comparison axes, but not every procurement must score every dimension:
| Axis | What to test | Useful evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Price and whole-life value | Price completeness, assumptions, maintenance and likely change exposure | Priced schedule, exclusions, lifecycle assumptions |
| Technical quality | Method, sequencing, quality assurance and design coordination | Method statement, programme, inspection and test plans |
| Capacity and schedule | People, plant, materials and realistic mobilisation | Resource histogram, named team, supply commitments |
| Delivery and continuity risk | Critical dependencies, contingency and recovery arrangements | Risk register, mitigation and business-continuity plan |
| Team and supply chain | Availability, competence and control of key subcontractors | Organisation chart, commitments and vetting approach |
| Relevant outcomes | Social or environmental outcomes included in the published criteria | Measurable commitments, ownership and reporting method |
Develop a technical specification before seeking prices. The Framework Practice Guide recommends a should-cost model to help identify abnormally low tenders. A low price is not automatically unacceptable, but obtain clarification, test labour and material assumptions, and document the conclusion under the applicable rules. Do not reward promises that are not measurable in the call-off.
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7. Turn selection into controlled contract delivery
Write measurable call-off KPIs
Set key performance indicators for programme milestones, quality defects, health and safety, payment to the supply chain, customer or stakeholder communication, environmental commitments and information deliverables where relevant. Define the data source, reporting frequency, tolerance, responsible person and remedy for each KPI.
Assign monitoring and escalation owners
Name the person who owns day-to-day contract management and the person authorised to approve changes, extensions or remedies. Schedule financial-standing reviews at a frequency proportionate to criticality. Establish escalation levels for missed milestones, repeated defects, unsafe work, subcontractor failure or signs of distress, with response times and evidence requirements.
Plan resolution, continuity and exit
Before award, decide how you would protect the public service if the contractor failed: step-in rights, substitution, assignment of materials and records, access to designs and data, transition support, termination assistance and handover testing. Confirm that these rights align with the framework agreement and call-off terms. The Framework Practice Guide recommends explicit resolution and exit planning rather than waiting for a crisis.
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A decision record you can defend
Keep a concise file that lets an independent reviewer reconstruct the decision:
- State why the framework and lot fit the authority, requirement, location, value and timetable.
- Attach the framework notices, setup information, terms and call-off instructions relied upon.
- Record the exclusion checks and any assessment of relied-upon entities or subcontractors.
- Explain the financial evidence, cumulative exposure, criticality and monitoring plan.
- Map each technical condition to evidence from the proposed team and comparable work.
- Show the insurance, safety and other risk requirements and why they are proportionate.
- Retain the issued specification, should-cost assumptions, tender clarifications, scoring and abnormally-low-price analysis.
- Attach the signed call-off, KPI schedule, governance contacts, escalation route and exit arrangements.
Revisit the checks if the scope, value, programme, ownership, key personnel or subcontracting model changes materially. A framework decision is defensible when the route, supplier and award are each supported by evidence tied to the project the public client is actually buying.
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