Out-Law News 2 min. read
16 Aug 2012, 4:37 pm
The Scottish Government is consulting on the creation of a Procurement Reform Bill, with which it intends to establish a national legislative framework for the way in which the public sector buys goods, work and services. The new system will ensure a "transparent, streamlined and standardised" framework that is "friendly to Scottish businesses", it said, including by introducing a general duty for bodies to conduct procurement in an "effective, transparent and proportionate manner".
"In introducing such a duty, consideration would have to be given to associated guidance and its status," the consultation document said. "Also, the duty might extend beyond the conduct of individual procurement exercises and into the public body's broader approach to procurement and the extent to which it is effective in relation to transparency, governance and capability issues."
In addition, the new laws will seek to deliver "economic, social and environmental benefits" and support innovation. The Scottish Government is particularly seeking views on how to expand the use of so-called 'community benefit clauses' in higher value contracts, to help promote training, apprenticeships and opportunities for the disabled and long-term unemployed.
The public sector in Scotland spends over £9 billion every year, with over 45% of this spending in 2011 with small or medium-sized businesses, according to the Scottish Government's figures. As these businesses only account for 37% of Scotland's turnover, this puts Scotland in the company of four EU member states in which small businesses have greater access to public contracts above EU thresholds than their significance in the wider economy would suggest, according to figures in the consultation. The UK as a whole ranks 20th out of 27 member states, it said.
Of those contracts awarded through Public Contracts Scotland (PCS), the national procurement portal, around 75% went to businesses registered from a Scottish address last year, the Scottish Government said. PCS, which was set up in 2008 to provide a single, free access point for contract opportunities within the Scottish public sector, has not been universally adopted by public bodies according to the consultation, although existing policy is that all contracts for £50,000 and above should be advertised on the database.
As part of its reform programme, the Scottish Government is considering a "single online portal" to advertise all opportunities and publish all public contract awards above a given threshold. It is also seeking views on whether the current recommendation for the PCS is too high or too low, and whether a different threshold may be appropriate for works contracts.
"Good public procurement is a vital contributor to growing the economy and creating jobs and training opportunities," said Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment with the Scottish Government. "The Scottish Government has achieved much already in improving the way the procurement system operates in Scotland, but clearly there is still room for further improvement to ensure taxpayers' money is used to best effect."
Liz Cameron of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, which has been lobbying the Scottish Government to ensure that public sector organisations adhere to procurement best practices, welcomed the consultation as "the next step" in the reform process.
"We have worked in partnership to successfully deliver significant reforms, but there remains more to do to ensure that the impact of public procurement as an economic lever is optimised," she said. "We intend to work with our members and the business community to ensure that this legislation delivers for Scottish businesses."
