A tool to let applicants set out the timing of the rest of their MEA process,
and to enable MOSL to plan resources accordingly.
Market Entry Assurance Plan Guidelines
26 February 2016
Key Messages
The purpose of the Market Entry Assurance Plan (MEAP) is as a tool to let applicants set out the
timing of the rest of their MEA process, and to enable MOSL to plan resources accordingly.
In understanding the submission windows and planning their activities within it, applicants can
better understand their workload, how long they have to complete each activity and their critical
path.
A MEAP should be submitted by all applicants undergoing Market Entry Assurance (MEA).
Where applicants are planning on undergoing self-certification MEA, they should submit and return
the Self-Cert Pro Forma worksheet, using the ‘Example Self-Cert’ approach worksheet as guidance.
Where applicants are planning on undergoing enhanced MEA, they should submit and return the
Enhanced Pro Forma worksheet, using the Example Enhanced approach worksheet as guidance.
Applicants can submit their MEAP from receiving confirmation of a complete Trading Application
from MOSL until ideally early May, or at the latest by 8 July.
Key messages are re-iterated in bold throughout this document.
.
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1. About the MEAP
1.1
About this document
This document provides guidance on how to complete the Market Entry Assurance Plan (MEAP) Pro
forma, an Excel version of this document.
The MEAP Pro forma consists of six worksheets:

‘About this doc’: contains the same information as Section 1.1 of this guidance;

‘MEAP Overview’: contains the same information as Section 1.2 of this guidance;

‘Example Self-Cert Approach’: provides an example of what a completed ‘Self-Cert’ Pro Forma
might look like, in addition to instructions on how to do so;

‘Self-Cert Pro Forma’: blank Self-Cert MEAP for applicants to complete;

‘Example Enhanced Approach’: provides an example of what a completed Enhanced Pro Forma
might look like, in addition to instructions on how to do so;

‘Enhanced Pro Forma’: blank Enhanced MEAP for applicants to complete.
Where applicants are planning on undergoing self-certification MEA, they should submit and return the
‘Self-Cert’ Pro Forma worksheet, using the Example ‘Self-Cert’ approach worksheet as guidance.
Where applicants are planning on undergoing enhanced MEA, they should submit and return the
Enhanced Pro Forma worksheet, using the Example Enhanced approach worksheet as guidance.
Applicants can use either the MEAP Guidelines or the MEAP Pro Forma for instructions on how to
complete their MEAP, depending on the format they find easiest to follow.
These documents contains a range of submission window dates. In including these dates, this makes the
guidance specific to market entry assurance prior to the shadow market.
This is the second stage of the MEA process alongside the Applicant Information Return, which should
both be submitted following on from receiving confirmation of a complete Trading Application. This is
outlined in the accompanying MEA Process diagram (a diagram of the process is included below).
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MEAP
This document is based on CSD0001: Market Entry Assurance and Re-Assurance.
Confidentiality
Any information provided through the associated Market Entry Assurance Plan Pro Forma will be held
securely and will only be used for the purposes defined in this request. MOSL will fully respect any level
of confidentiality marking attached to your information and in so doing will comply fully with the
provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.
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1.2
MEAP Overview
A Market Entry Assurance Plan (MEAP) should be submitted by all applicants undergoing Market Entry
Assurance (MEA), following on from receiving confirmation of a complete Trading Application. As for the
Trading Application, this means market participants should complete this application for each of the
businesses through which they seek to attain a licence and / or compete in the live market, rather than
for each legal entity, i.e. Incumbents will need to apply for wholesale and retail certification separately.
The purpose of the MEAP is as a tool to let applicants set out the timing of the rest of their MEA process,
and to enable MOSL to plan resources accordingly.
In understanding the submission windows and planning their activities within it, applicants can better
understand their workload, how long they have to complete each activity and their critical path.
To that end, the MEAP Pro forma will outline the MEA activities applicants will need to undertake with
the associated activity windows (blue bars).
Applicants will then be asked to submit their own version using the pro forma in which they specify their
planned dates for each activity (purple bars), for instance expected submission of the Business Solution
Assessment.
A diagram of this is included below, and the original can be seen in the MEAP Pro forma.
Applicants will not be held to exact dates for submission of documents, but will be required to inform
MOSL where this is likely to deviate so they can plan resources accurately.
1.3
The Process
MEAPs may be submitted as soon as MOSL confirms receipt of a complete Trading Application by
emailing the plan to [email protected] alongside the AIR, with a submission window running from 1
April 2016 to 8 July 2016.
As per the dark blue bars on the subsequent worksheets (see screenshot of a Self-Cert Pro Forma below),
MOSL expects most participants to submit their AIR and MEAP by early May and would strongly advise
participants to undertake the MEA process as soon as is realistically possible, to:

Increase the time available for each phase;

Increase the time available for closing down any identified risks, and;

Increase the likelihood of achieving MEAC and entering the shadow market.
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Where applicants are planning on undergoing self-certification MEA, they should submit and return the
Self-Cert Pro Forma worksheet, using the Example Self-Cert approach worksheet as guidance.
Where applicants are planning on undergoing enhanced MEA, they should submit and return the
Enhanced Pro Forma worksheet, using the Example Enhanced approach worksheet as guidance.
Instructions on how to complete the relevant worksheet are contained in the Example Approach
worksheets, or in the guidance below.
MOSL will review this MEAP alongside an applicant’s AIR to determine which the appropriate MEA route
is. Once done, they will consider MOSL resources and applicant demand and work with applicants to agree
a plan.
MOSL will aim to agree the submission within two weeks following receipt of the AIR and MEAP.
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2. Completing a Self-Certification MEAP
Where applicants are planning on undergoing self-certification MEA, they should submit and return the
Self-Cert Pro Forma worksheet, using the Example Self-Cert approach worksheet (screenshot below) as
guidance.
a)
b)
c)
d)
The screenshot above (from the Example Self-Cert approach worksheet) is an example of what a selfcertification applicant-returned MEAP should look like.
Applicants should use the Pro forma Self-Cert worksheet in this document to complete their own version
of this, as per the instructions below.
Applicants are expected to complete the sections in purple (blocks and dates), and where required by the
instructions move the dark green blocks accordingly. The arrows are to demonstrate the process flow and
do not need replicating in the applicant submission.
The instructions below set out what an applicant should do. The notes in italics are the exact instructions
lifted from the Market Entry Assurance Plan (MEAP) Pro forma, and anything else is an additional
comment thought potentially useful.
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2.1
Instructions
The Trading Application does not need any kind of entry as this will already have been submitted and
reviewed.
a) Applicant Information Return and Market Entry Assurance Plan
Applicants should include the date they submit their AIR and MEAP and represent the subsequent MOSL 2
week processing time by moving the green bar underneath.
These are the items an applicant is submitting, so the applicant should include the date of submission as
a starting point against which to base the rest of the MEA process.
b) Market & Interface Training
Due to request by market participants, the market and interface training dates will be allocated by MOSL
following receipt of the Trading Application.
The Trading Application is needed to allow MOSL to understand the requirement in terms of number of
applicants, number of participants per applicant, and whether applicants are expecting to need training
on the low or high volume interface.
For this reason, the market and interface training dates are green, indicating they’ll be allocated by MOSL.
If the dates have already been allocated by MOSL they can be filled in by the applicant, if not they should
be left blank in the participant submission and MOSL will complete this section.
c) Self-Certification and Security Return
Applicants should indicate the period over which they plan to carry out their Self-Certification (SC) and
Security Return (SR) and the expected date of submission.
Once the self-certification route has been agreed in response to the AIR submission, an applicant can begin
work on their Security Return and Self-Certification. However, in completing these documents applicants
must have a thorough understanding of their obligations set out in the market framework and how to
operate the Low Volume Interface. Consequently, applicants must have completed the training before
signing and submitting the remainder of their self-certification submission.
Applicants should represent the subsequent MOSL two week processing time by moving the green bar
underneath.
An applicant should indicate these periods using the purple bar and by giving a submission date, as per
the example.
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d) Potential Certification decisions in time for market opening (dates tbc)
As mentioned in the MEA Process Slides, self-certification applicants who successfully complete their Selfcertification and Security Return early can have their MEAC approved at an earlier date.
Applicants should inform MOSL when they’ll be looking for a decision through their Market Entry Assurance
Plan as demonstrated, to allow MOSL to plan its resources.
The Certification Decision dates are approximate and will be confirmed closer to the time, once MOSL have
agreed the process for final certifications.
Applicants are asked when they expect to require a certification decision to enable MOSL to plan demand
and resources accordingly.
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3. Completing an Enhanced MEAP
Where applicants are planning on undergoing enhanced MEA, they should submit and return the
Enhanced Pro Forma worksheet, using the Example Enhanced approach worksheet as guidance.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
The screenshot above (from the Example Enhanced approach worksheet) is an example of what an
enhanced applicant-returned MEAP should look like.
Applicants should use the Pro forma Enhanced worksheet in this document to complete their own version
of this, as per the instructions below.
Applicants are expected to complete the sections in purple (blocks and dates), and where required by the
instructions move the dark green blocks accordingly. The arrows are to demonstrate the process flow and
do not need replicating in the applicant submission.
The instructions below set out what an applicant should do. The notes in italics are the exact instructions
lifted from the Market Entry Assurance Plan (MEAP) Pro forma, and anything else is an additional
comment thought potentially useful.
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3.1
Instructions
The Trading Application does not need any kind of entry as this will already have been submitted and
reviewed.
a) Applicant Information Return and Market Entry Assurance Plan
Applicants should include the date they submit their AIR and MEAP and represent the subsequent MOSL
two week processing time by moving the green bar underneath.
These are the items an applicant is submitting, so the applicant should include the date of submission as
a starting point against which to base the rest of the MEA process.
b) Market & Interface Training
Due to request by market participants, the market and interface training dates will be allocated by MOSL
following receipt of the Trading Application.
The Trading Application is needed to allow MOSL to understand the requirement in terms of number of
applicants, number of participants per applicant, and whether applicants are expecting to need training
on the low or high volume interface.
For this reason, the market and interface training dates are green, indicating they will be allocated by
MOSL. If the dates have already been allocated by MOSL they can be filled in by the applicant, if not they
should be left blank in the participant submission and MOSL will complete this section.
c) Business Solution Assessment
Applicants should indicate the period over which they plan to carry out their business solution assessment
and the expected date of submission. This period can start as early as an applicant wants, but the applicant
is dependent on MOSL approving their approach to the BSA as part of their Applicant Information Return
processing period.
Applicants should represent the subsequent MOSL 2 week processing time by moving the green bar
underneath.
d) Detailed Participant MEA Test plan
Applicants should indicate the period over which they plan to work on their own MEAT plan, using the
MOSL Pro forma.
This period can start as early as an applicant wants, but the applicant is dependent on MOSL approving
their approach to testing as part of their Applicant Information Return processing period. The test plan
must be submitted 3 weeks before the proposed testing start date (or alternative testing date; whichever
is earlier) at the latest, but MOSL would encourage an earlier submission where possible.
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Applicants should represent the subsequent 3 week period by moving the green bar underneath, required
for participant design and build and MOSL review.
The MOSL Detailed MEA Test Plan details how the IDTT and MST will be carried out. Applicants are
required to supply their detailed participant Market Entry Assurance Test Plan, which will identify the
scope of testing that is applicable to the applicant’s involvement in the market and enable MOSL to verify
the documented approach that applicants are taking in order to obtain certification (MEAC). This is the
period in which applicants will develop this.
e) IDTT & MST
Applicants will be granted a two week window between 1 August and 23 September in which to complete
both their IDTT and MST. An approximate timeline for the breakdown of this window is contained in the
MOSL Detailed MEA Test Plan.
To enable MOSL to allocate testing dates, applicants should provide a preferred two week window within
which they can carry out their testing, (using the purple bar) and an alternative two week window in the
subsequent line.
MOSL will review applicant requests and allocate a two week testing window in agreeing the MEAP,
meeting participant preferences where possible. This will be done on a first-come, first-served basis.
The dark green bar underneath represents the subsequent MOSL two day processing time.
f)
Systems Declaration
On successful completion of the tests the applicant should then confirm, using a pro forma Systems
Declaration, that it has successfully tested all of its systems. Applicants should indicate an approximate
date they plan to submit it.
Ideally this will be as soon as possible after completion of IDTT and MST testing, as it is required to progress
the MEA process.
The Systems Declaration is not a significant piece of work to complete but is included in the MEAP for
completeness. Applicants will have to confirm they have successfully tested all the systems they intend to
use for their market operations, including interface and operational / source systems, and should make
sure they are in a position to do so ready to complete the declaration.
All that is needed is a planned submission date.
g) Potential Certification decisions in time for market opening (dates tbc)
As mentioned in the MEA Process Slides, the final MEAC decision is constrained to September due to the
MST dates. However, enhanced applicants who successfully complete their Business Solution Assessment
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earlier than this date can have an Indicative MEAC approved at an earlier date, which means MEAC will
likely be granted, subject to the applicant successfully completing testing.
Applicants should inform MOSL where they’ll be looking for an early decision/ indicative decision through
their Market Entry Assurance Plan as demonstrated, to allow MOSL to plan its resources.
The Certification Decision dates are approximate and will be confirmed closer to the time, once MOSL have
agreed the process for final certifications.
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