Scottish Procurement Reform Bill

Publication Date: 01 September, 2015, 00:00

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill introduces a 'sustainable procurement duty' for all contracting authorities. Buyers in a local Council for example will be required to consider how their procurement might benefit the social, economic or environmental wellbeing of their area - i.e. through training and employment opportunities, capacity building for local SMEs or supporting community initiatives.

The Bill will also establish a national legal framework for procuring goods, services and works - the first in the UK - with mandatory requirements for certain aspects of the selection and award procedures. 

The Procurement Reform Bill would establish a national legislative framework for the way in which the public sector in Scotland buys goods, work and services. It would be backed by enabling powers, allowing the Scottish Government to make regulations governing how public bodies would assess the suitability of companies to bid for public contracts; and statutory guidance to encourage good employment practices by contractors by allowing issues such as the use of zero-hours contracts to be considered as part of a suitability assessment.

The Bill would introduce a general duty for public bodies to conduct procurement in an effective and proportionate manner, for the particular benefit of smaller and third sector businesses. In addition, the new laws would seek to deliver "economic, social and environmental benefits" through the creation of a 'sustainable procurement duty' to be imposed on contracting authorities. The Bill also proposes substantial expansion of the use of so-called 'community benefit clauses' in higher value contracts to help promote training, apprenticeships and opportunities for disabled people and the long-term unemployed.

"Changes to public procurement rules will ensure Scotland retains its place as a world leader in public procurement reform, promoting an approach that is both business-friendly and socially responsible," said Nicola Sturgeon. "The Bill will provide a national legislative framework for sustainable public procurement, ensuring that we maximise the economic benefit brought to Scotland from effective and efficient public procurement spend."

"Scotland has one of the highest levels of public procurement spend on SMEs in the EU. The Bill will build on and secure that success and continue to make it easier for SMEs to find and compete for public sector contracts," she said.

For more information on progress to date and to view the partial Equality Impact Assessment please click here http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Procurement/policy/ProcurementReform/implementEUDirProcRef