Accreditation of Jobcentre Plus Providers

All providers are now required to go through an accreditation process prior to the award of any contract, in excess of £10,000, by Jobcentre Plus.

Accreditation process

Any provider, selected as a preferred bidder, will be referred to the accreditation process. This process will be managed on Jobcentre Plus' behalf by a partner organisation, Momenta.

Who will be referred for accreditation?

Only providers selected as preferred bidders will be referred for accreditation. Providers cannot refer themselves for accreditation.

The referral for accreditation will be made by the Jobcentre Plus Contract Manager. Providers will not be required to pay for accreditation.

Timescales

The accreditation process is conducted via a secure website. The application form is completed on-line and should be submitted within five working days of initial contact from Momenta. Momenta will send an e-mail to the contact named on the tender, providing them with login details, user name and password, and the telephone number of the help line.

Please ensure that the information required is available to complete the application form within the timescales. The award of a contract may be delayed if the application form is not submitted within five working days.

What Information Is Required?

The following information will be required for the accreditation process:

• Legal Status
• Financial information* (for example, the last two years' annual accounts will be required)
• Insurances (certificates will be required)
• Evidence of compliance with Health and Safety legislation
• Evidence of compliance with current legislation regarding Equality and Diversity - see below.

*Full Time Educational Colleges, Local Authorities, Higher Education Institutions and NHS bodies (unless a foundation hospital) will not be required to submit financial information, unless the bid involves the use of a separate legal entity set up on a commercial basis.

Further information

Any questions in respect of the accreditation process should be directed to Momenta. Their help line number is provided on the e-mail and also on the accreditation website.

The following link provides more information and an example of each of the application forms. Please note this form is for information only. Providers will only be able to complete this form online, following receipt of the login details from Momenta.

https://www.momenta-accreditation.co.uk/jcp/about.php

One of the benefits of the accreditation system to providers is that they will only need to complete the application from once, no matter how many contracts they hold with Jobcentre Plus or the number of bids submitted. An annual review will, however, take place to ensure the information held is correct.

The list of accredited providers is available via this link

https://www.momenta-accreditation.co.uk/jcp/register.php

Equality and Diversity legislation

Recent legislation regarding Equality and Diversity policies will impact on Jobcentre Plus providers. Any provider bidding for a contract, as well as those who already have contracts in place, will be required to submit relevant Equality and Diversity policies. Further information on this is available via this link:

Jobcentre Plus accreditation - Equality and Diversity legislation

Mick Gough
Accreditation Manager
For and on behalf of Jobcentre Plus