Qualifying Defence Contract or "QDC"
For a contract to be a qualifying defence contract (QDC) it must fulfil the following:
Scope of Supply
It is a contract under which the Secretary of State procures goods, works or services for defence purposes from another person.
Monetary Value Threshold
It is a contract that has a value of £5 million or more (but see note 1). There are specific rules within the DRA and SSCR as to how the contracting authority should assess the contract value.
Excluded Contract Descriptions
It is a contract that is not within an excluded contract description (see note 2).
Contract Nature & Award Date:
(a) It is a contract entered into on or after 18 December 2014 where the award is not the result of a competitive process; or
(b) it is a contract entered into before 18 December 2014 where the contract award is not the result of a competitive process and the contract is amended on or after 18 December 2014, and the parties agree that it is to be a QDC; or
(c) it is a contract entered into before or after the 18th December 2014 as a result of a competitive process and that is amended on or after 18 December 2014, where the amendment is not the result of a competitive process, and the parties agree that it is to be a QDC.
Exempted Contracts
It is a contract that meets the requirements for being a QDC and that has not been exempted from the regulatory regime by the Secretary of State.
Note 1: For contracts entered into after 18 December 2014 and before 31 March 2015, the monetary threshold is £500 million or more.
Note 2: Excluded contract descriptions are (a) contracts to which the government of any country other than the United Kingdom is party; (b) contracts made within the framework of an international cooperative defence programme; or (c) contracts made wholly for the purposes of one or more of the following —
(i) the acquisition of land (including existing buildings or other structures, and land covered with water), and any estate, interest, easement, servitude or right in or over such land;
(ii) the management or maintenance of any land or buildings or other structures; or
(iii) intelligence activities.
Please note that the Single Source Contract (Amendment) Regulations 2018 has made amendments to the 2014 regulations in order to seek to limit the extent of the exclusions for intelligence activities and international defence programs described above