If you are a public body subject to the regime set down in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012, now is your chance to have your say on how the public procurement regulations operate, and the Scottish Government's proposals for change relating to procurement law.

The Scottish Government is currently running a consultation into The Procurement Reform Bill, the aim of which is to establish a national legislative framework for sustainable public procurement that supports Scotland's economic growth by delivering social and environmental benefits, supporting innovation and promoting public procurement processes and systems which are transparent, streamlined, standardised, proportionate, fair and business-friendly.

The Scottish Government aims to ensure that the £9bn spent on goods and services in the public sector every year is used to assist in the delivery of many of its aims, including job creation, infrastructure development, strengthening communities and promoting a low carbon economy.

The Scottish Government considers that a simplification of the procurement regime is in order, to ensure that contract opportunities are transparent and easily understood by those businesses wishing to provide works/supplies/services to the public sector.

Another priority for the Scottish Government is to encourage, and make it easier for, new businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector providers to successfully bid for public contract opportunities. There is a proposal that the Bill will contain a requirement that public bodies advertise and award all public contract opportunities through a single online portal (presumably a portal such as Public Contracts Scotland).

The Scottish Government is also hoping that the amended procurement regime will:

• encourage innovation through the acceptance of variant bids,
• promote economic, social and environmental well-being (through procurement)
• allow public bodies to do something about suppliers who consistently perform poorly, or whose business standards and behaviour leave something to be desired.

Many of these aims reflect the objectives of the EU, which is currently considering a new directive on public procurement. Such a new directive will obviously impact on the Scottish legislation and we watch developments with interest. If you wish to respond to the Scottish Government's consultation, you can do so by following this link.  Please note that the consultation ends on 2 November.

If you have any further queries or wish to discuss the procurement regulations and how they might affect you, please contact us.