Procurement activity: annual report 2022 to 2023

Highlights

This report provides an overview of the Scottish public sector’s procurement activity for the financial year 2022 to 2023. A summary of the key findings is provided below, noting caveats on data limitations.*

Overview

7,025

According to information provided by 129 public bodies in their annual procurement reports, a combined total of 7,025 regulated contracts were awarded by these public bodies.

£16.6bn

Known Scottish public sector procurement spend totalled £16.6 billion, of which £8.9 billion was spent in Scotland alone.

18,079

The Public Contracts Scotland platform recorded that 18,079 suppliers were awarded contracts. Scottish-based suppliers received 72%, and small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) received 77% of these contracts.

Impact on the economy

£13.7bn

Around £13.7 billion of economic activity, 120,000 full-time equivalent jobs and £7.5 billion to Scottish GDP were generated from the £16.6 billion in known public procurement spend.

Good for businesses and their employees

61p

According to data reported to the Hub, public procurement spend in Scotland totalled £7.7 billion where business size was known. Of that, 61 pence in every pound (or £4.7 billion) went to a SME.

£1.2bn

Third sector organisations received an estimated £1.2 billion (or 13.3%) of known public procurement spend in Scotland during the reporting year.

2,889

According to information provided by 106 public bodies in their annual procurement reports, a combined total of 2,889 contracts with a scored Fair Work criterion were awarded by these public bodies.

£22.8m

According to information provided by 107 public bodies in their annual procurement reports, a combined total of £22.8 million of public procurement spend in Scotland went to supported businesses from these public bodies.

£7.1bn

According to data reported to the Hub, Scottish public sector procurement spend was £15.0 billion where the business size was known. Of that, SMEs received 47.5% (or £7.1 billion).

Good for places and communities

£4.8bn

The level of deprivation in suppliers’ local areas was known for £8.7 billion of public procurement spend in Scotland. Analysis showed that 54.6% (or £4.8 billion) of that spend went to suppliers based in the 60% most deprived areas.

£3.3bn

According to data from the Hub, £3.3 billion (or 37.5% of £8.9 billion total) of known public sector procurement spend in Scotland was with suppliers based within the local authority area of the purchasing body.

Good for society

According to information provided by 107 public bodies in their annual procurement reports, examples of the ways in which environmental wellbeing and climate change were addressed through procurement included: environmental criteria in procurement exercises, using climate action plan templates, and encouraging staff to complete climate literacy eLearning.

Examples of the ways in which public bodies’ met their duties of equal treatment and non-discrimination included: completing Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments for regulated procurements, and ensuring that corporate policy and procurement manuals were aligned with equal treatment and non-discrimination duties.

Open and connected

133

133 public bodies submitted annual procurement reports for this analysis, detailing their procurement activity for financial year 2022 to 2023 and providing evidence of how they have complied with the Sustainable Procurement Duty.

43

43 public bodies elected to produce an annual procurement report despite not reaching the £5 million threshold of regulated procurements which would require them to do so.

*Please note that percentage figures may not always sum to the exact totals due to rounding. There are a number of limitations in relation to the data for this report, further detail on this is available in the body of the report. Please consider these limitations when interpreting the findings.