MICROSOFT LIMITED

Azure Container Apps

Azure Container Apps provides serverless container platform for microservices. It handles scaling, load balancing, and certificate management automatically. The service abstracts Kubernetes complexity.

Features

• Runs containers without infrastructure management
• Scales automatically from zero
• Supports event-driven scaling
• Provides service discovery
• Enables Dapr integration
• Manages secrets centrally
• Supports traffic splitting
• Integrates with Container Registry
• Provides built-in observability
• Enables virtual network integration

Benefits

• Runs containers without infrastructure management
• Scales automatically from zero
• Supports event-driven scaling
• Provides service discovery
• Enables Dapr integration
• Manages secrets centrally
• Supports traffic splitting
• Integrates with Container Registry
• Provides built-in observability
• Enables virtual network integration

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  ODS

• Service definition document

  ODT

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at ukcdp@microsoft.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 15

Service ID

148893932665493

Contact

Microsoft G Cloud Team
01189094502
ukcdp@microsoft.com

About your service

• Service categories:

  IaaS

  IaaS Compute

  • Container and serverless engine compute

Service scope

• Service constraints: Azure subscription limits and quotas - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/azure-subscription-service-limits
• System requirements:
  • Service selection dictates system requirements
  • Consult online pages for details
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Yes
• Support response times: The Initial Response Time varies with both the support plan and the Business Impact of the request (also known as Severity). For a breakdown of initial response times by several level and business impact, please visit https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/plans/response/; Weekend support availability varies depending on your Azure support plan. For more information, please visit https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/plans/
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.2 AA
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Web chat support: Yes
• Web chat support availability: 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Web chat support accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AA
• Web chat accessibility testing: A User can access Azure web chat support by signing in to the Azure Portal, opening Help + Support, and creating a support request. If eligible, the user may select Chat with a support engineer. Users can ask technical, billing, subscription, and service‑related questions in real time. They can share logs, follow troubleshooting steps, and receive guidance on Azure services. However, users cannot request Microsoft to perform direct administrative tasks in their subscription, make architectural decisions for them, or bypass support plan requirements. Chat availability also depends on your support plan, issue type, severity, and region.
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Microsoft provides four (4) Azure support plan options, which includes varius levels of technical account management and cloud support engineering. The support options and cost include the following:; - BASIC (included for all Azure customers); - DEVELOPER ; - STANDARD ; - PROFESSIONAL DIRECT; - UNIFIED SUPPORT; For more information, vist https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/plans/ and https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/unifiedsupport/overview
• Support available to third parties: Yes
• AI chatbot: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Microsoft provides all Azure customers with 24/7 self-help resources, including Microsoft Learn, Azure Portal how-to videos, documentation, and community support. For more information, visit:; - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support; - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/; - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/videos/; - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/community/
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: As a customer, you maintain ownership of your data—the content, personal and other data you provide for storing and hosting in Azure services. Microsoft will not store or process customer data outside the geography you specify, except for certain non-regional services. You are also in control of any additional geographies where you decide to deploy your solutions or replicate your data.; Azure has established internal records-retention requirements for back-end data. You are responsible for identifying your own record retention requirements. For records that are stored in Azure, you are responsible for extracting your data and retaining your content outside of Azure for a customer-specified retention period.; Azure allows you to export data and audit reports from the product. The exports are saved locally to retain the information for a customer-defined retention time period.; For more information on protection of customer data, visit: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/protection-customer-data
• End-of-contract process: Microsoft is governed by strict standards and follows specific processes for removing cloud customer data from systems under our control, overwriting storage resources before reuse, and purging or destroying decommissioned hardware. In our Online Service Terms, Microsoft contractually commits to specific processes when a customer leaves a cloud service or the subscription expires. This includes deleting customer data from systems under our control.; ; Please see Data Protection Addendum for full and up to date details about how Microsoft manages your data. https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/docs/view/Microsoft-Products-and-Services-Data-Protection-Addendum-DPA?lang=1
• Documentation accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AA

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Using the web interface: The Azure Portal lets users create, configure, and manage cloud resources such as virtual machines, storage accounts, networks, databases, and identity settings. It supports monitoring, cost management, policy enforcement, automation, and role-based access control. Users can customize dashboards, deploy templates, and integrate services visually. However, the portal cannot perform advanced scripting or complex bulk automation—that requires tools like Azure CLI, PowerShell, or ARM/Bicep. Users also cannot directly modify underlying infrastructure, access physical hardware, bypass security controls, or perform tasks outside their assigned permissions. The portal focuses on secure, role‑based, GUI‑driven cloud management.
• Web interface accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AA
• Web interface accessibility testing: We test all our services and support functions extensively with our customers and partner before release
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: "Azure users can set up services and make changes via Microsoft’s API using Azure API Management. To set up a service, users can sign in to the Azure portal, navigate to your API Management instance, and create a resource from the Azure portal menu. Detailed instructions for setting up services are available at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/api-management/get-started-create-service-instance; From the API Management section of the Azure Portal, users can make changes using by selecting ""Add API"" and following the steps listed at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/api-management/add-api-manually; There are some limitations when using Azure API Management. For instance, the maximum number of subscription (API Keys) per service instance is 500. Additional API import restrictions are available at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/api-management/api-management-api-import-restrictions"
• API automation tools:
  • Ansible
  • Chef
  • OpenStack
  • SaltStack
  • Terraform
  • Puppet
  • Other
• Other API automation tools:
  • Azure Automation
  • Azure PowerShell
  • Azure CLI
  • Azure Logic Apps
  • Azure DevOps
  • Azure Functions
  • ARM Templates / Bicep
  • Pulumi
  • Jenkins
  • Apache Airflow
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats:
  • Open API (also known as Swagger)
  • HTML
  • Other
• Command line interface: Yes
• Command line interface compatibility:
  • Linux or Unix
  • Windows
  • MacOS
• Using the command line interface: Azure CLI lets users create, configure, and manage most Azure resources from any platform using command-line commands and automation scripts. It supports tasks like deploying VMs, managing storage, configuring networks, querying data, and running CI/CD workflows. However, it cannot provide graphical views, visual dashboards, or some advanced features found only in Azure Portal or Azure PowerShell. Some niche services may have limited CLI support.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Azure limits noisy‑neighbor impact through strict resource isolation and governance. The hypervisor guarantees dedicated CPU and memory slices per VM; platform services enforce per‑tenant quotas and throttling; auto‑scaling and load‑balancing spread load across infrastructure; and continuous monitoring detects and mitigates contention. Combined, these controls ensure one customer’s demand doesn’t degrade another’s performance.
• Usage notifications: Yes
• Usage reporting:
  • API
  • Email
  • SMS
  • Other
• Other usage reporting: Voice Call (Phone call); Mobile Push Notification (Azure mobile app); Webhook (HTTP POST); Secure Webhook; Azure Function; Logic App; Azure Automation Runbook; ITSM Integration (ServiceNow, BMC, System Center, etc.); Event Hub; Email to Azure Resource Manager Role
• Optimising consumption: Yes
• Automatic scaling: No

Analytics

• Infrastructure or application metrics: Yes
• Metrics types:
  • CPU
  • Disk
  • HTTP request and response status
  • Memory
  • Network
  • Number of active instances
  • Other
• Other metrics: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/reference/metrics-index
• Reporting types:
  • API access
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
• Resource tagging: Yes
• FOCUS resource tagging: Yes

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Developed Vetting (DV)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations:
  • United Kingdom
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
  • Other locations
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Datacentre security standards: Supplier-defined controls
• Penetration testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest: Other
• Other data at rest protection approach: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/trusted-cloud/privacy/
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v4.0, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001
• Data sanitisation type: Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation / Secure Erase

Backup and recovery

• What’s backed up:
  • Azure VMs
  • SQL Server and SAP HANA in Azure VMs
  • Azure Managed DiskS
  • VMware/HyperV environments using MABS/DPM
  • Backup data stored in Recovery Services Vaults-upto 2000 data sources
• Backup controls: Users control Azure backups through backup policies, which define the backup schedule, frequency, retention, and backup type. Policies automate when backups run and how long recovery points are kept. Users can also run on‑demand backups for immediate protection. Additionally, Azure Policy can enforce backup requirements across resources to ensure compliance and consistency.
• Datacentre setup: Multiple datacentres with disaster recovery
• Scheduling backups: Users schedule backups through a web interface
• Backup recovery: Users can recover backups themselves, for example through a web interface
• Backup and recovery: Yes
• RPO/RTO: Yes

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • Private network or public sector network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
  • Other
• Other protection between networks: "Microsoft employs robust encryption measures to safeguard customer data during transit. Here are the key aspects of data protection:; https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/trusted-cloud/privacy/"
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
  • Other
• Other protection within supplier network: Microsoft employs robust encryption measures to safeguard customer data during transit. Here are the key aspects of data protection:; https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/trusted-cloud/privacy/

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Microsoft provides detailed service level agreement (SLA) metrics for all Azure components and services. To review SLAs for individual Azure services, visit https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/docs/view/Service-Level-Agreements-SLA-for-Online-Services
• Approach to resilience: "Many Azure regions provide availability zones, which are separated groups of datacenters within a region. Availability zones are close enough to have low-latency connections to other availability zones. They're connected by a high-performance network with a round-trip latency of less than 2ms. However, availability zones are far enough apart to reduce the likelihood that more than one will be affected by local outages or weather. Availability zones have independent power, cooling, and networking infrastructure. They're designed so that if one zone experiences an outage, then regional services, capacity, and high availability are supported by the remaining zones. They help your data stay synchronized and accessible when things go wrong. Datacenter locations are selected by using rigorous vulnerability risk assessment criteria.; ; Furthermore, you have the ability to build high availability into application architecture by co-locating your computer, storage, networking, and data resources within a zone and replicating in other zones. Azure services that support availability zones fall into two categories:; - Zonal services: you pin the resource to a specific zone (e.g.,, virtual machines, managed disks, standard IP addresses), or; - Zone-redundant services: platform replicates automatically across zones (e.g., zone-redundant storage, SQL database)"
• Outage reporting: "Azure Service Health provides you with a customizable dashboard that tracks the health of your Azure services. In this dashboard, you can track active events like ongoing service issues, upcoming planned maintenance, or relevant health advisories. When events become inactive, they get placed in your health history for up to 90 days. Finally, you can use the Service Health dashboard to create and manage service health alerts that proactively notify you when service issues affect you. Service Health tracks four types of health events that may impact your resources:; - Service issues: Problems in the Azure services that affect you right now.; - Planned maintenance: Upcoming maintenance that can affect the availability of your services in the future.; - Health advisories: Changes in Azure services that require your attention. Examples include deprecation of Azure features or upgrade requirements (e.g., upgrade to a supported PHP framework).; - Security advisories: Security-related notifications or violations that may affect the availability of your Azure services.; ; Azure Resource Health: diagnose / get support for service problems that affect your Azure resources. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/service-health/resource-health-overview; ; Microsoft also offers public dashboards that provide service status across all Azure regions. ; - https://azure.status.microsoft/en-us/status; ; https://ms.portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Health/AzureHealthBrowseBlade/~/serviceIssues"

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
  • Other
• Other user authentication: Azure authenticates users through Microsoft Entra ID. When a user accesses the service, they are redirected to Entra ID, which verifies identity using methods such as passwordless sign‑in, MFA, certificates, or federated identity providers. Conditional Access policies may enforce requirements like MFA. Once authenticated, Entra ID issues a signed token, which the service validates before granting access based on the user’s permissions.
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: We restrict access to management interfaces and support channels using role‑based access control, ensuring only authorized personnel can perform administrative actions. Multi‑factor authentication, passwordless sign‑in, and Conditional Access policies enforce strong identity verification. Administrative endpoints are protected with network restrictions, logging, and continuous monitoring. Support channels require verified identity, limited privileged access, and follow least‑privilege and just‑in‑time access principles to minimize exposure.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Username or password
• Devices users manage the service through:
  • Dedicated device on a segregated network (providers own provision)
  • Directly from any device which may also be used for normal business (for example web browsing or viewing external email)

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: You control when users can access audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: User-defined
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: User-defined
• How long system logs are stored for: User-defined

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards:
  • CSA CSM version 4.0
  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • Other
• Other security governance standards: "ISO 27001 (Information Security Management); ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management); ISO 27018 (Protection of Personally Identifiable Information in the cloud); FedRAMP (U.S. government cloud security); DoD IL5 (U.S. Department of Defense cloud requirements); HIPAA / HITRUST (Healthcare data protection); PCI DSS (Payment card data security); GDPR compliance mechanisms"
• Information security policies and processes: "ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS); ISO/IEC 27002 Security Controls; ISO/IEC 27018 (protection of personal data in the cloud); ISO/IEC 27701 (privacy information management); SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3 audited controls; NIST SP 800‑53 security and privacy controls; NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) alignment; FedRAMP security assessment and continuous monitoring; PCI DSS processes for cardholder data protection; GDPR-compliant privacy and data protection processes; Azure Security Development Lifecycle (SDL); Azure Policy governance and compliance enforcement; Continuous monitoring, logging, and threat intelligence processes"

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Complies with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v4.0 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: Azure uses automated, auditable change management built on Azure Resource Manager. Changes are tracked through services like Microsoft.ChangeAnalysis, which records what changed, when, and by whom to detect configuration drift and support rapid incident resolution. Azure DevOps adds structured processes for identifying, reviewing, approving, and tracking changes using Agile best practices to minimise risk and ensure clear documentation and governance.
• Vulnerability management type: Complies with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v4.0 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: We maintain a continuous vulnerability‑management program that includes automated scanning, threat intelligence monitoring, and rigorous patch management. Identified vulnerabilities are assessed, prioritised by severity and business impact, and remediated within defined SLAs. Our process includes regular penetration testing, configuration baseline reviews, and monitoring for zero‑day threats. Remediation activities are tracked to completion, with verification to ensure fixes are effective. We follow secure‑engineering practices, maintain incident‑response integration, and undergo independent audits aligned with recognised standards to validate the effectiveness of our controls.
• Protective monitoring type: Complies with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v4.0 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Azure protective monitoring involves continuously collecting, analysing, and correlating security signals across the cloud environment. It uses services like Azure Monitor, Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, and Activity Logs to detect anomalies, policy violations, and potential threats. Automated analytics identify suspicious behaviour, trigger alerts, and support incident response. Data is retained for auditing, investigation, and compliance, ensuring proactive detection and rapid mitigation of security risks.
• Incident management type: Complies with a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v4.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-18 / ISAE 3402
• Incident management approach: Azure’s incident management process follows a structured lifecycle. Azure continuously monitors services to detect outages or security issues, then prioritises and analyses incidents to determine impact. Microsoft’s incident response teams isolate affected components, mitigate the issue, and restore normal operations. Throughout the event, Azure provides customer communications through the Service Health Dashboard. After resolution, Microsoft conducts post‑incident reviews to improve processes, strengthen detection, and prevent recurrence.
• Post-quantum cryptography secure: No

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v4.0)

Separation between users

• Virtualisation technology used to keep applications and users sharing the same infrastructure apart: Yes
• Who implements virtualisation: Supplier
• Virtualisation technologies used: Other
• Other virtualisation technology used: "Microsoft Hyper‑V; Hyper‑V–isolated Containers (micro‑VMs); Kata Containers (sandboxed containers); AMD SEV‑SNP (Confidential VM memory encryption & integrity); Intel TDX (Hardware‑based Confidential VM isolation); Intel SGX (Enclave‑based secure execution); Azure Software‑Defined Networking (SDN); Virtual Networks (VNet) & virtual switches; Virtual NICs; Virtualized disks (Azure VHD / managed disks); Virtual TPMs (vTPMs); Linux kernel namespaces & cgroups (container process isolation)"
• How shared infrastructure is kept separate: "Microsoft Hyper‑V; Hyper‑V–isolated Containers (micro‑VMs); Kata Containers (sandboxed containers); AMD SEV‑SNP (Confidential VM memory encryption & integrity); Intel TDX (Hardware‑based Confidential VM isolation); Intel SGX (Enclave‑based secure execution); Azure Software‑Defined Networking (SDN); Virtual Networks (VNet) & virtual switches; Virtual NICs; Virtualized disks (Azure VHD / managed disks); Virtual TPMs (vTPMs); Linux kernel namespaces & cgroups (container process isolation)"

Energy efficiency

• Energy-efficient datacentres: No

Pricing

• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Users create an account at azure.microsoft.com and signing into the Portal. New users get $200 credit for 30 days, plus 12 months of free popular services and 55+ always‑free services. Starting is free, and users are only charged if they choose to move to PAYG or exceed free usage limits
• Link to free trial: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/purchase-options/azure-account

Discount

• Provide your minimum discount applicable to your baseline prices: 0%

Formula for calculating price of your services

• Formula for calculating price of your services:

  Which of the core deployment models you intend to offer

  Public Cloud

  Public Cloud - Formula for calculating price of your services

  ---

  Total Cost

  The Total Cost for a buyer's call off requirement in a Public Cloud Deployment

  =

  Baseline Pricing

  Bidders will visit azure.microsoft.com and use the public pricing calculator to determine their requirements. Currency should be set to UK Pound.

  Baseline Pricing - Web link

  https://azure.microsoft.com

  -

  Minimum Discounting

  0%

  +

  Onboarding Activity

  Onboarding costs may vary based on your specific requirements, please confirm with suppliers during the clarification process

  +

  Additional sources of cost

  Discounting for eligible Public Sector entities will be applied at the Call Off level as per agreed Government MOU.

  -

  Additional sources of cost reduction

  Buyers can leverage programmatic saving models such as Reserved Instances and Savings Plans

  ---

• Total Cost: The Total Cost for a buyer's call off requirement in a Public Cloud Deployment
• Baseline Pricing: Bidders will visit azure.microsoft.com and use the public pricing calculator to determine their requirements. Currency should be set to UK Pound.
• Baseline Pricing - Web link: https://azure.microsoft.com
• Minimum Discounting: 0%
• Onboarding Activity: Onboarding costs may vary based on your specific requirements, please confirm with suppliers during the clarification process
• Additional sources of cost: Discounting for eligible Public Sector entities will be applied at the Call Off level as per agreed Government MOU.
• Additional sources of cost reduction: Buyers can leverage programmatic saving models such as Reserved Instances and Savings Plans

Mandatory certifications

• Mandatory certifications:

  Are you are bidding to offer IaaS and/or PaaS as a reseller or are you in sole control of the infrastructure

  Sole Control of the Infrastructure

  ISO 9001 certification

  Provided

  ISO 14001 certification

  Provided

  ISO 27001 certification

  Provided

  ISO 20000-1 certification

  Provided

  ISO 27017 certification

  Provided

  Are you bidding to provide services under Lot 1b or both Lot 1a and Lot 1b?

  Yes

  ISO 27018 certification

  Provided

Cyber Essentials

• Do you have a Cyber Essentials Plus certificate?: Yes
• Cyber Essentials Plus certificate Number: F3b2bb69-15a2-4f5a-8184-2fa37b8963af

Non-mandatory Standards and certifications

• ISO 28000:2022 certification: No
• Quality management systems (QMS): Yes
• CSA STAR certification: Yes
• CSA STAR accreditation date: Friday 12 December 2025
• CSA STAR certification level: Level 2: CSA STAR Attestation
• What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover: Full documentation can be found at this link: https://servicetrust.microsoft.com/viewpage/CSASTAR
• PCI certification: Yes
• Who accredited the PCI DSS certification: Coalfire Systems Inc
• PCI DSS accreditation date: Monday 8 September 2025
• What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover: Full documentation can be found at this link: https://servicetrust.microsoft.com/viewpage/PCI
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications: FedRAMP High - Azure and M365

Social value

• Section B - Commitment for Future: Delivery:

  • Mission: Kick start economic growth. To secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 - with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.

    Policy Outcome 1: Fair work: That offers fair wages and good working conditions. Help people get a job, stay in work, and progress in their careers, with good employment opportunities across the country. Notes: Where there is a large proportion of labour costs in the contract, commercial teams should consider MAC in Outcome 1 as a priority

    • New or retained jobs on the contract workforce in the relevant area that meet the criteria set out in MAC 1b, 1c and 1d
    • New apprenticeships on the contract workforce in the relevant area that meet the criteria set out in MAC 1b
    • Providing opportunities for, and measuring and monitoring of, staff workforce conditions over time, including employee engagement, involvement in decision-making and satisfaction and adapting to any changes in the results, with clear processes for acting on issues identified
    • Plans to engage the contract workforce in deciding the most important workplace issues to address
    • Activities that support an environment where staff are educated about, and feel empowered to, address their physical wellbeing
    • Activities that support an environment where staff are educated about and feel empowered to report and address bullying and harassment
    • Activities to cascade good practice on fair working conditions throughout the supply chain
    • Payment of more than the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage (as appropriate) to the contract workforce
    • Entitlement to sick pay for the contract workforce, with provision in place for any staff who do not meet the earnings threshold for statutory sick pay, payment of sick pay from day one of absence and payment of staff on the contract workforce who are off sick a replacement income of 100% of their usual earnings for as long as possible
    • Plans for an appropriate income replacement policy for staff who are required to spend time away from work to care for a sick dependent or close relative
    • Support for educational attainment relevant to the contract, including training schemes that address skills gaps and result in recognised qualifications
    • Volunteering opportunities for staff
    • Understanding of the modern slavery risks and issues affecting the market, industry, sector or country (of origin or of source) relevant to the contract, and the workforce in the supplier’s own organisation and those of its key subcontractors
    • Measures to identify, mitigate and manage modern slavery risks relating to the contract and how these will be implemented
    • Outline policies and practices to be applied to or put in place for the contract to mitigate and manage modern slavery risks, including: Pre-employment checks, recruitment practices. Workplace conditions, safeguarding plans and processes in place and regular monitoring with relevant groups considered, which may include sampling
    • How these flow down the supply chain and are monitored Illustrative examples include reporting, site visits, audits, etc.
    • How to ensure business decisions re: price/cost, short lead times, payment timescales do not create modern slavery risks in the supply chain
    • How the supplier will work with NGOs, trade unions or other businesses to address modern slavery risk
    • Means of influencing staff, suppliers, customers, communities and/or any other appropriate stakeholders with respect to modern slavery risks relating to the contract

  • Mission: Kick start economic growth. To secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 - with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.

    Policy Outcome 2: Skills for growth: Supporting growth sectors and addressing skills gaps.

    • Understanding of employment and relevant skills issues, and of the education and training issues relating to the contract. Illustrative examples: demographics, skills shortages, new opportunities in high growth sectors, geographic/local community and skills/employment challenges
    • Activities to support relevant sector related skills growth and sustainability in the contract workforce. Illustrative examples: careers talks, curriculum support, literacy support, safety talks and volunteering
    • Delivery of apprenticeships, supported internships and T Level industry placement opportunities (Level 2, 3 and 4+) in relation to the contract

  • Mission: Kick start economic growth. To secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 - with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.

    Policy Outcome 3: Resilient, innovative and flexible supply chains: Support economic growth through enabling resilient businesses, opportunities for small businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprises

    • Understanding of the types of businesses in the market and the level of participation by new businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs, VCSEs and mutuals
    • Activities to identify opportunities to open up sub-contracts under the prime contract to a diverse range of businesses, including new businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs, VCSEs and mutuals
    • Plans for engaging a diverse range of businesses in engagement activities prior to appointing subcontractors (including activities prior to award of the main contract and during the contract term)
    • Activities that demonstrate a collaborative way to work with a diverse range of businesses as part of the supply chain
    • Structuring of the supply chain selection process to ensure fairness (e.g. anti-corruption) and encourages participation by a diverse range of businesses, including with regard to new businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs, VCSEs and mutual
    • Methods for engaging with different parts of the community (including the education system and charities representing the community) and how communities come together to inform decisions, strategy and projects to leave a positive legacy for future generations

  • Mission: Make Britain a clean energy superpower: To cut bills, create jobs and deliver security with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030, accelerating to net zero

    Policy Outcome 4: Sustainable procurement practices: Reducing carbon footprints, minimising waste, and promoting the use of clean energy and green technologies.

    • Collaborative ways of working with the supply chain to deliver additional environmental benefits in the performance of the contract, including working towards net zero carbon emissions and use of clean energy and green technologies
    • Delivery of additional environmental benefits through the performance of the contract, including working towards net zero carbon emissions and use of clean energy and green technologies
    • Understanding of how to influence staff, suppliers, customers, communities and/or any other appropriate stakeholders through the delivery of the contract to support climate and nature protection and improvement

  • Mission: Break down barriers to opportunity: By reforming our childcare and education systems, to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain

    Policy Outcome 6: Employment and training: For those who face barriers to employment

    • Understanding of employment and skills issues, and of the skills and employment shortages of high growth sectors relating to the contract
    • Delivery of training schemes and programmes to address any identified skills gaps and under-representation in the workforce for the contract (e.g. prison leavers, care leavers, kinship carers, disabled people)
    • Inclusive and accessible recruitment practices, and retention-focused activities, including those provided in the Guide for line managers on recruiting, managing and developing people with a disability or health condition
    • Offering a range of quality opportunities with routes of progression if appropriate, e.g. T Level industry placements, students supported into higher level apprenticeships.
    • Working conditions which promote an inclusive working environment and promote retention and progression
    • Understanding of the issues affecting inequality in employment, skills and pay in the market, industry or sector relevant to the contract, and in the supplier’s own organisation and those of its key sub-contractors. Measures to tackle inequality in employment, skills and pay in the contract workforce
    • Inclusive and accessible development practices, including guidance for line managers on recruiting, managing and developing people with a disability or health condition

  • Mission: Break down barriers to opportunity: By reforming our childcare and education systems, to make sure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of young people in Britain

    Policy Outcome 7: Creating a pipeline of opportunities: For the contract workforce, reducing barriers to entry for under-represented groups.

    • Understanding of the issues affecting the development of new skills by target cohort

  • Mission: Build an NHS fit for the future: That is there when people need it; with fewer lives lost to the biggest killers; in a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer.

    Policy Outcome 8: Increasing productivity through physical and mental wellbeing: In the supply chain and communities in the relevant area.

    • Understanding of issues relating to health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health, in the contract workforce
    • Inclusive and accessible recruitment practices, development practices and retention policies that support-focused activities including those provided in the Guide for line managers on recruiting, managing and developing which support people with a disability or health condition
    • Actions to invest in the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the contract workforce

Service documents

• Pricing document

  ODS

• Service definition document

  ODT

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at ukcdp@microsoft.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.