Rules & feedback · 6 min read
SQ, PSQ or PQQ: which one are you actually filling in?
Three names, and providers use them interchangeably. They aren't interchangeable. Each belongs to a different set of rules, and NHS healthcare buying has its own. They differ on exclusion, timetables and what you can do if you think a decision was wrong.
The short version
| Name | Regime | Where you'll meet it |
|---|---|---|
| PQQ | Pre-dates PCR 2015; still used loosely | Older frameworks, and buyers who never updated their templates |
| SQ | PCR 2015 | Procurements that started before 24 February 2025, and call-offs from frameworks set up under PCR 2015 |
| PSQ | Procurement Act 2023 (Procurement Specific Questionnaire) | Most council and public sector tenders started since 24 February 2025 |
| PSR selection questions | Provider Selection Regime 2023 | NHS bodies and ICBs buying healthcare, and councils buying public health services |
In practice, if a council is buying social care, you are completing a PSQ if the procurement started on or after 24 February 2025, and an SQ if it started before. If an integrated care board is buying healthcare, or a council is buying a public health service, you are probably under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). The word on the document is not always a reliable guide, so check the notice instead.
What "PSQ" means now
Since the Procurement Act 2023 went live on 24 February 2025, PSQ usually means the Procurement Specific Questionnaire, a template the government publishes. It fills a similar role to the standard Selection Questionnaire used under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015).
It works alongside the Central Digital Platform, the supplier registration service on Find a Tender. You register once and store your core supplier information: basic details, your most recent accounts, connected persons such as directors and parent companies, and any exclusion grounds. You give the buyer a share code, and the questionnaire adds the questions for that procurement, including its conditions of participation.
The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) is different again. NHS England's statutory guidance describes basic selection criteria, covering suitability to pursue the activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability. It describes criteria rather than one named form, so NHS buyers label their questionnaires in different ways. A document headed "PSQ" could therefore sit under either regime. The notice tells you which.
How to tell from the notice
| If the notice on Find a Tender | You are probably under |
|---|---|
| Carries a UK code, such as UK4 for a tender notice | The Procurement Act 2023 |
| Uses an older form code beginning with F and refers to PCR 2015 | PCR 2015, including call-offs from frameworks set up before 24 February 2025 |
| Says it is a Provider Selection Regime notice and names a process, such as direct award process C, the most suitable provider process or the competitive process | The PSR |
PSR notices do not always use the newer UK codes, so read the description text as well as the form label.
The council exception
Councils usually buy social care, which is outside the PSR. But local authorities are relevant authorities under the PSR when they arrange healthcare services, and NHS England's guidance confirms that preventative public health services are in scope. A council tender for a public health service can therefore be a PSR procurement, with PSR timescales and PSR challenge routes.
Why it matters practically
Different things can eliminate you
An SQ or PSQ tests mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds, economic and financial standing, and technical ability. It is pass/fail: there are no marks for a good answer, only elimination for a bad one.
The PSR works differently. It runs on five key criteria: quality and innovation; value; integration, collaboration and service sustainability; improving access, reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice; and social value. The process the buyer chooses (direct award, most suitable provider, or competitive) changes what you are being assessed against.
Different timetables
Under PCR 2015 the standstill after an award decision is at least ten calendar days. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it is eight working days where it applies, but light touch contracts, which cover most social care, are exempt, so check the award notice for an end date. The PSR has its own eight working day standstill. The Act also replaced the familiar Regulation 86 letter with assessment summaries.
If you are planning to challenge, counting the wrong window is fatal.
Different grounds for challenge
PSR challenges start with a written representation to the buyer, who must review before the contract is concluded. That is not the same route as a PCR or Procurement Act claim, and the deadlines are shorter.
The part that actually costs providers contracts
Whichever it is, the selection stage kills more bids than the quality stage, and almost nobody realises it happened.
The usual causes, in order of how often we find them:
- Turnover mismatch. The figure stated in the questionnaire doesn't match the filed accounts at Companies House. Buyers check.
- Insurance below specification, or expiring mid-contract. The certificate must cover the required level and run past the contract start date.
- Policies dated after the submission deadline. A safeguarding policy signed the day after close proves you wrote it for the bid.
- Attachments named wrongly, or missing entirely. Portals reject on filename conventions more often than you would believe.
- Group structure and connected persons declared inconsistently across sections of the same form.
None of these produce a helpful rejection letter. You get a line saying your submission did not meet the requirements, and you never learn which requirement.
The evidence pack to keep ready
Selection questions change between regimes. The evidence behind them barely does. Keep one pack, give it one owner, and check it every quarter.
- Central Digital Platform registration. Under the Procurement Act, buyers must confirm you are registered and have submitted your core supplier information, usually before the tendering period ends. Review it before you generate each share code.
- Filed accounts for the years the buyer asks for, with turnover matching Companies House.
- Insurance certificates showing limits and expiry dates. Employers' liability must be at least £5 million by law, and the tender may ask for more. Check public liability and professional indemnity levels at the same time.
- Your Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration, showing each regulated activity and location.
- A policy register listing every policy, its owner and its last review date, so nothing you upload is dated after the deadline.
- A modern slavery statement if your turnover is £36 million or more, because the law requires one at that size. Smaller providers may still be asked how they manage the risk.
- Details of subcontractors and partners you rely on. Under the Procurement Act, buyers check exclusion grounds for them as well as for you.
Three questions providers ask
The form says PQQ but the notice says Procurement Act. Which rules apply?
The notice. The name on the form is the buyer's choice of words. The regime is set by law, and by when the procurement started.
Do we need to register on Find a Tender if the buyer uses its own portal?
For Procurement Act procurements, yes. The buyer's portal handles your bid, but your core supplier information comes from the Central Digital Platform through the share code. Registration is free. Start early, because gathering connected-person details takes longer than people expect.
A subcontractor we rely on has a problem in its history. Are we out?
Not automatically. Under the Procurement Act, if an exclusion ground applies to an associated person or subcontractor, the buyer must give you a reasonable chance to replace them before excluding you. Raise it early, with evidence of what has changed.
For the wider changes the Act brought, see our guide to what changed when the Procurement Act 2023 replaced PCR 2015.
What to do about it
Read the contract notice first and identify the regime before you touch the questionnaire. Then work backwards from the evidence pack above, gathered before you write anything, and make the narrative match the documents rather than the other way round.
Our pre-submission audit checks exactly this, exclusion grounds, financial thresholds, insurance, policy dates, uploads and published clarifications, before you press submit.
Got a tender with a deadline on it?
Send the closing date and the portal link. We'll tell you honestly whether it's worth your time, before you pay us anything.