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Scottish Government Procurement Policies

Scottish Government Procurement Policies

Scottish Procurement is responsible for the development of national procurement policy and guidance in Scotland.

Please use the Links below to the Policy and legislation pages

Policy and Legislation

The Scottish Procurement Policy Notes provide up-to-date advice and guidance on policy and procedural issues relating to works and non-works procurement.

Scottish Procurement policy notes (SPPNs)

Scottish Procurement policy notes are published on an ad hoc basis to provide advice on current policy issues.

Scottish Procurement action notes (SPANs)

Scottish Procurement action notes are also published on an ad hoc basis. One use of SPANs is to alert organisations to recent court decisions which do not influence procurement policy but may be of interest to procurement professionals.

Scottish Procurement construction policy notes (CPNs)

The Scottish Procurement Construction Policy Notes are also published on an ad hoc basis to provide advice on specific construction policy issues. One use of CPNs will be to alert organisations of the proposed implementation measures of the Review of Scottish Public Sector Procurement in Construction.

EU Thresholds

Summary of thresholds from 1 January 2018 (net of VAT)

Public Sector Contracting Authorities

Goods	£181,302
Service	£181,302
Works	£4,551,413
Light Touch regime for Services	£663,540

Procurement legislation from 18 April 2016

Legal Remedies for Breach of the Rules

If an organisation does not comply with procurement law then those who have suffered, or risk suffering, loss can seek legal remedies.

Remedies can include the altering of procurement documents, damages, financial penalties and a ruling that a contract is ineffective, depending on the category of breach and its seriousness.  Remedies are enforceable in the Court of Session and Sheriff Courts.

Statutory Guidance to Local Authorities on Contracting

The Scottish Ministers have issued guidance to local authorities under section 52 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 on contracting. Local authorities are under a duty to have regard to it in exercising a power to enter into a contract.

Procurement of Care and Support Services

Updated guidance on the procurement of care and support services

The Scottish Government has published updated best-practice guidance on the procurement of care and support services, developed in consultation with a reference group of stakeholders.

The guidance updates and replaces the 2010 ‘Procurement of Care and Support Services’ guidance to reflect the changes to the national procurement rules as a result of 2014 European Procurement Directives, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and implementing regulations.

This guidance complements the statutory guidance published under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 which primarily covers the main legal rules applying to the procurement of health or social services, including care and support services.  Public bodies must consider the statutory guidance when procuring these important services.

Public bodies should also take account of the best-practice guidance, which describes a set of considerations for the specific procurement of care and support services. It places the purchasing of those services within a set of principles which acknowledges a balance between human rights, outcomes for the individual, best value and procurement Regulations.

Living Wage through Procurement

The Living Wage is a rate of pay which is enough to ensure that those receiving it can enjoy an acceptable standard of living.  The rate will be different for different places reflecting different costs of living.

In the UK the rate is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually by the Living Wage Foundation and calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.

The Scottish Government has examined how payment, by contractors, of the Living Wage can be taken into account as part of a public procurement process.  The European Commission has confirmed that public bodies are unable to make payment of the Living Wage a mandatory requirement as part of a competitive procurement process where the Living Wage is greater than any minimum wage set by or in accordance with law.

It is also important to take account of developing caselaw decisions on this matter.   It is therefore not possible to reserve any element of the overall tender score specifically to the payment of the Living Wage.  It is possible, where relevant to the delivery of a contract, to encourage contractors to pay the Living Wage.

Sustainable Procurement

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 builds on the work of Public Procurement in Scotland. It establishes laws about sustainable public procurement to maximise the social, environmental and economic benefits through effective and efficient procurement activity.