Public Procurement Group and Procurement Supply Group: February 2026

Attendees and apologies

Scottish Government

• Nick Ford (NF), Meeting Chair, Director, Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate (SPPD)
• Ivan McKee (IM), Minister for Public Finance (opening remarks & Q&A)
• Ruth Meyer (RM), Presenter, PSR Strategy & Governance
• Sarah Sharkey (SS), Presenter, Source-to-Contract (PCS/PCS-T replacement)
• Kirsten Wall (KW), Presenter, Consultation on amending the thresholds within the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014
• Alasdair Hamilton (AH), Presenter, Community Wealth Building Bill, for Nikki Archer, SG Policy
• Colette Sherry (CS), SG Procurement & Property Directorate
• Calum Elliot (CE), SG Collaborative
• Lynne Dow (LD), Private Secretary
• Rachael Hughes (RH), Communications and Strategic Engagement Team Leader
• Lynsey Boyle (LB), Strategic Engagement Manager
• Ruari Watt (RW), Secretariat, Strategic Engagement Officer
• Chris McLean (CM), Senior Media Manager

PPG

• Julie Welsh (JW), Scotland Excel
• Angus Warren (AW), APUC
• Gordon Beattie (GB), NHS National Services Scotland
• Colette Whigham (CWh), Non-Executive Director, Efficio Consulting
• Alison Gallacher (AG), Angus Council
• Allan Ferguson (AFe), SEPA
• Andrew Foulner (AFo), Heriot-Watt University
• Michael Cambridge (MC), NHS Lothian & NHS Tayside
• Susan Moore (SM), East Lothian Council

PSG

• Alistair Taylor (AT), Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland
• Peter Campbell (PC), Business Services Association
• Pauline Gordon (PG), Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector
• Anna Fowlie (AF), Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
• Gillian Cameron (GC), Supplier Development Programme
• Alison Christie (AC), CCPS
• Jamie Lawson (JL), Social Enterprise Scotland
• Janice Nicol (JN), Social Enterprise Scotland
• Stacey Dingwall (SD), Federation of Small Businesses
• Stuart Parker (SP), Construction Scotland
• Stuart Hamilton (SH), Scottish Chambers of Commerce
• Sarah Duley (SDu), Soil Association Scotland
• Tyra Dempster (TD), Soil Association Scotland
• Amanda Brown (AB), Food and Drink

Apologies

• Catherine Garrod, IRISS
• Linda Somerville, Scottish Trades Union Congress
• James Finnie, Community Enterprise in Scotland
• Catherine McWilliam, Institute of Directors
• Ian Wyper, Robertson Group
• Gareth Williams, Scottish Council for Development & Industry
• Karen Meechan, ScotlandIS

Items and actions

Items and actions
Welcome 

• Chair welcomed attendees to the first joint meeting of the refreshed Public Procurement Group (PPG) and Procurement Supply Group (PSG), outlining aims to strengthen collaboration and align to deliver the public procurement strategy for Scotland
• Chair noted ministerial attendance and highlighted the importance of using Scotland’s public procurement spend as a lever for economic, social and environmental value

Minister’s opening remarks 

• reinforced the role of procurement in delivering Public Service Reform (PSR), Fair Work, ethical supply chains, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)/social enterprise support and net zero
• emphasised efficiency, shared services, simplification and removal of duplication, invited concrete proposals including to consider options regarding mandation where warranted and beneficial (Action – to provide a proposal)
• Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill progressing with procurement central to local wealth retention and SME access
• encouraged leaders to consider fiscal sustainability and bring forward opportunities for structural change across procurement operations

Chair updates

• next steps, publish minutes/transparency, agree annual priorities via PPG, and strengthen communication between sub-forums and the Minister
• highlights included Care Reform Scotland Act 2025 (procurement implications), Supported Business Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) extended to 2027, high SME response to supplier survey, and 20th anniversary of Procurex/GO awards celebrating sector success
• focus for 2026 to use joint forums to drive the Public Procurement Strategy and support PSR delivery through stronger collaboration and shared priorities
• PPG/PSG refresh, broadened PSG representation (e.g. food & drink, construction, chambers) and added local authority, health and Higher Education (HE) voices to PPG, PPG to act as the senior representative body and formal route into the Minister

Public Service Reform (PSR) – presentation 

• foundations, leadership, accountability (aligned to refreshed National Performance Framework), empowerment of staff/communities, and a simplified delivery landscape
• pillars, prevention, better joined‑up, person‑centred services (e.g. Whole Family Support) driving efficiency
• modelling highlights substantial avoided costs from prevention, target to reduce back‑office costs by £1bn annually over five years
• expectation of co‑production across public bodies, suppliers and the third sector, governance includes Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)/ Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) engagement

Discussion highlights 

• there was a strong appetite for mandating from NHS National Services Scotland, due to the need for clearer policy backing/structural solutions to accelerate shared services and "once for Scotland" approaches
• supplier engagement, earlier market input on design, leverage Scotland Innovates and sector roundtables
• funding flexibility, support for pooled budgets in Whole Family Support and proportionate reporting
• request to ensure meaningful engagement of the third sector across PSR workstreams

Threshold Review

• consultation closed 8 January with 200+ responses, analysis report due by March, subsequent decisions for incoming administration
• Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) and PCS‑Tender System Replacement - Source to Contract (S2C)
• pre‑procurement gate completed with positive outcome followed by Invitation to Tender (ITT) late Q1 26
• continuity assured via extensions/dual running with the cost of doing nothing assessed as higher than moving to a modern platform
• request for stronger, regular communications to stakeholders (e.g. heads of procurement/SLUGPUF)

Community Wealth Building Bill 

• stage 2 amendments (procurement aspects) include potential local spend targets, reporting and post‑Act review, Stage 3 to follow
• Open forum 
• cross‑border procurement regulations, Scottish Procurement Policy Note (SPPN) imminent, UK Cabinet Office preparing devolved authority guidance for Crown Commercial Service (CCS) call‑offs
• Care Reform Act – supported business extension, guidance/SPPN in development (SG care policy colleagues to revert)
• exploration of national procurement models (increasing standardisation and commitment contracts), proposal to be developed (potential pilots/select categories)

Any Other Business (AOB) 

• Supplier Development Programme, 2026 programme underway – Meet the Buyer Tayside (3 March), National (Glasgow, 2 June), Aberdeen (early September), ongoing training and innovation portal signposting

Actions 

• develop structural reform options paper (mandation/shared services) for Minister consideration, engage PPG/PSG members in drafting, Chair 
• Chair to speak to PSR Workstream Lead - Landscape Review regarding mandating around PSR and procurement, and provide options to move forward 
• SG S2C project team to circulate a regular formal stakeholder update – SG
• group members to get in contact if they want to be involved in any other PSR workstreams – All members