RM6397 guidance · 5 of 6
The clarification deadline is the real constraint
RM6397 clarifications close at 3pm on Wednesday 2 September 2026, nineteen days before the submission deadline. After that the pack says what it says, and any ambiguity you have not resolved becomes an assumption you carry into a £2 billion competition.
The facts that decide it
- Clarifications close 3pm, Wednesday 2 September 2026
- Submissions close 3pm, Monday 21 September 2026
- Answers are normally published to all bidders, so a good question helps the field
- The clarification deadline, not the submission deadline, is usually the real constraint
The clarification window is the part of a procurement most suppliers waste. It closes early, it closes quietly, and the questions that would have been worth asking only become obvious in week three when somebody is actually drafting the answer and hits the ambiguity. By then it is too late to ask.
The way to use it is to read the pack for decisions rather than for content, in the first days rather than the last. Anything that changes what you would write, what evidence you would supply, or which lots you would bid is a candidate question. Anything the pack already answers is not, and asking it wastes the window.
Be aware that answers are normally published to every bidder. That is a reason to be precise rather than a reason to stay quiet. A well framed question about an evidence format or an eligibility boundary costs you nothing competitively, because the answer helps whoever was going to answer it correctly anyway. A question that reveals your commercial approach is a different matter and generally should not be asked.
If the pack is genuinely ambiguous on a pass or fail requirement, that is the highest value question you can ask, because a misread gate ends the bid outright while a misread scored question only costs marks.
What we do on this
- Read the pack for decision points in the first days and draft the clarifications that change what you would write
- Keep questions precise so the published answer does not hand anything away
- Close off every assumption before 2 September so nothing carries into drafting unresolved
The mistake that costs the most
Reading the pack properly for the first time after the clarification window has shut. Every ambiguity then becomes an assumption, and assumptions in a competitive submission are where marks quietly go.
Common questions
What is worth raising a clarification about?
Anything that changes what you would write, what you would supply as evidence, or which lots you would bid. Ambiguity on a pass or fail requirement is the highest value of all, because misreading a gate ends the bid rather than costing marks.
Will asking a question show our hand?
Not if it is framed properly. Questions about evidence formats, eligibility boundaries and requirement thresholds are safe and the published answer helps the field equally. Questions that reveal your commercial approach are a different category and generally should not be asked.
What if we spot a problem after 2 September?
You take a documented view, apply it consistently across every answer, and state the assumption where the response allows it. That is a worse position than having asked, which is exactly why the first week matters more than it feels like it does.
Reviewed 24 August 2026. The published ITT on the GCA e-sourcing portal is the only authority on any date, threshold or requirement here. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
More on RM6397
Start with the RM6397 framework overview, or go straight to the NHS tender pipeline.
Bidding RM6397?
Tell us which lots you are considering and where you are up to. A director replies with a view, and will tell you if we think a lot is not winnable for you.
RM6397: Clarifications close 2 September
Which lots, and how far along are you?