News story

New Quality and Assurance framework open now

Crown Commercial Service and the Home Office have launched a new IT Quality and Assurance framework for the public sector.

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

This news article was withdrawn on

This page has been withdrawn as it is out of date. The framework expired in March 2020.

For an overview of the agreements that Crown Commercial Service currently offers, visit the search agreement page on our website.

generic image of people working on IT

Crown Commercial Service is helping the public sector to test the quality of IT services with a new framework agreement, developed in partnership with the Home Office.

Quality and Assurance Testing is live now, and gives central government and the wider public sector access to pre-evaluated suppliers of IT testing services.

Of the 42 suppliers on the framework, 26 (62%) are small and medium-sized enterprises.

What is the framework for?

If you’re designing and/or building a digital requirement or cloud service integration, you may need independent, specialist quality assurance and/or testing before you go live to ensure a smooth implementation.

The new agreement complements other digital agreements such as:

  • Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS)
  • G-Cloud
  • Cyber Security Services
  • Crown Hosting

The services available support testing functionality, usability and performance using independent specialist service expertise.

What is on offer?

Buyers can choose from one of four flexible mini-competition options, to select their supplier to deliver a wide range of testing and quality assurance services.

Services available under the new agreement are:

  • Lot 1: Quality Assurance and Testing Specialists
  • Lot 2: Automation, Agile and Development Opportunities
  • Lot 3: Load and Performance Testing
  • Lot 4: Functional Testing
  • Lot 5: Infrastructure Testing and Environments
  • Lot 6: Operational Acceptance Testing and Disaster Recovery
  • Lot 7: Quality Assurance and Testing Management
  • Lot 8: Strategic Quality Assurance Consultancy

Buyer confidence

Only suppliers who have passed the Home Office’s robust evaluation will be able to bid for work under the agreement, giving you an extra level of reassurance.

All suppliers on this agreement have signed up to government terms and conditions, making tendering simple and effective.

Want to know more?

Complete the online form to register your interest in the Quality Assurance and Testing for IT Systems agreement.

Updates to this page

Published 7 April 2017