Security seal usage and procurement details: FOI release

Information requested

1. Use of Security Seals. Does the Scottish Government, or any of its directorates, agencies, or public bodies, use tamper-evident security seals — for example, pull-tight seals, anchor seals with wire, twister seals with wire, or security sticker seals — for securing official documents, storage containers, evidence bags, or other sensitive materials?

2. Procurement Method. Are these security seals procured directly by the Scottish Government or via national procurement frameworks such as Public Contracts Scotland, the Scottish Procurement Alliance, or other collaborative purchasing arrangements?

3. Technical Specifications. Does the Scottish Government apply any technical specifications or product standards when procuring security seals? If detailed information cannot be shared for operational or security reasons, please confirm whether such specifications exist and provide a general description (e.g., tamper-evident, single-use, security classification).

4. Usage and Most Recent Purchase. Please indicate the approximate frequency with which these seals are used and the date of the most recent procurement, if this information is held.

5. Responsible Unit. Please confirm which directorate, division, or procurement function within the Scottish Government is responsible for the purchase of these security seals.

Response

I should explain firstly that I am only able to respond in respect of information held by Scottish Government (including its core directorates). To obtain similar information held by other public bodies, you would need to approach them individually.

You might also consider searching for relevant contract notices which have appeared on the procurement portal used by the Scottish public sector, Public Contracts Scotland
(www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk).

Our response to your request (comprising five parts) is as follows.

Part 1

I have conducted a search of information held on various Scottish Government systems, and found one procurement for these products. Further information on this procurement is provided at Parts 2, 3 and 4 below.

For completeness, I should mention that small quantities of these products may also have been bought by individual units within Scottish Government and paid for by Government Procurement Card (GPC). A search of our records of such payments for the 12-month period 01/11/2024 to 31/10/2025 (for two relevant account codes) identified five transactions with a total value of £59.19.

Moreover, Scottish Government might be considered as “using” such seals without having procured them directly - for example, where postal or courier services are contracted for as a service. Such usage would not be identifiable from our information sources.

Part 2

My searches found one recent (2023) stand-alone procurement for security seals, carried out by our Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) division, who use tamper proof security seals for various sized containers of seed. The outcome of this procurement was notified via Public Contracts Scotland, at:
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUN481255

Public Contracts Scotland is not a procurement framework but a means of advertising procurement opportunities and managing the subsequent procurement process. This procurement followed a “Quick Quote” procedure, meaning that quotations were invited from a limited number of suppliers.

SASA have advised me that they also utilise a UK-wide collaborative procurement arrangement which is administered by the Animal Plant & Health Agency (APHA), and that they also make occasional one-off purchases of seals for international trade.

Part 3

The stand-alone procurement referred to above used the following specification.

“SPECIFICATION OF PLASTIC SEAL The seal must be of a hardwearing lightweight plastic material e.g. polypropylene or polymide of a ribbon and slot style. It must be strong enough to withstand being pulled tightly around the drawstrings and neck of 1 tonne potato sacks and specifically those used for export to Israel. The ribbon on the seal should ideally be 360-380 mm in length. The preference being for the upper limit. The seal should have a built-in quick release mechanism i.e. that allows it to be removed without the use of a sharp implement. The seal should have pull strength of 45 kg. The seal should have a marking area on the flap of 20 mm x 55 mm and allow for a maximum of 14 digits. The seal should be able to withstand potato store conditions including changing humidity, low and high temperatures. It should also be able to withstand handling during loading and transportation of potato by road, sea and air. The logo “SASA” should be printed in black ink in BOLD capitals on the tab of the seal. The seal should be white in colour. The seals should be produced strips attached to each other,

PREVIOUS USAGE PLASTIC SEALS For the 2021-22 season the number of seals used was approximately 150,000. The number of seals required over the 3-year period of the contract could therefore be estimated at approximately 450,000. However, the number of seals used in each season may vary depending on fluctuations in trade. In addition, we already have a stock of our current seals of 50,000 that we will use prior to using any seals from the winning tender. Consequently, the seals required in the first year of the contract will be reduced by that amount. The number of seals required for a season is determined in May each year. We would expect that the seals are delivered to our Area Offices and to SASA by 1 September each year. Although depending on circumstances it may be possible to accept part delivery. The table below gives an indication of the number of seals used up to the date of this Tender by each Area Office. Area Office Seals Used Inverurie 50,000 Perth 89,000 Galashiels 5,000 Inverness 10,000”.

Scottish Government does not hold the specification used by APHA.

The specification used for the most recent one-off purchase by SASA (in January 2021) was as follows: “UN1540 security seals (pull tight seal), Single Use, Labelled with ISTA GB04, with unique numbering.”

Part 4

The stand-alone procurement referred to above took place in 2023. The most recent order placed through the APHA arrangement was in September 2025. Both types of seal are used throughout the year.

Part 5

Procurement within Scottish Government is undertaken by a network of Delegated Procurement Officers (DPOs). While many DPOs are concentrated within the Scottish Procurement & Property Directorate, DPOs in other parts of Scottish Government (such as SASA) may also make purchases for good or services relevant to their own area.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.