Public procurement update – annual procurement reports for 2026 to 2027: SPPN 1/2026
This policy note provides notice of changes to the annex A data template for 2026 to 2027 annual procurement reports (APRs) and how a contracting authority should notify Scottish Ministers of the publication of their procurement strategy and annual procurement report.
Purpose
This policy note provides notice of changes to the annex A data template for 2026 to 2027 annual procurement reports (APRs) and how a contracting authority should notify Scottish Ministers of the publication of their procurement strategy and annual procurement report.
Key points
Some changes have been made to the annex A data template that we have outlined below, for contracting authorities to implement for financial year 2026 to 2027 annual procurement reports. The revised annex A data template included in this SPPN should be used for that reporting year.
Background
The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”) sets out the requirements for contracting authorities to publish a procurement strategy and an annual procurement report.
Procurement strategies
Section 15 of the 2014 Act requires all contracting authorities that expect to have significant procurement expenditure in the next financial year to, before the start of that year, either publish a strategy, or where one already exists, review the existing strategy, making such revisions to it as the body considers appropriate and publish its revised strategy.
A contracting authority has significant procurement expenditure in a year if the sum of the estimated values of the contracts to which its regulated procurements in that year relate is equal to or greater than £5 million.
A contracting authority with procurement expenditure of less than £5 million on regulated procurements in the financial year, while not legally required, is encouraged to publish a procurement strategy as a matter of good practice.
Section 19 of the 2014 Act requires a contracting authority to notify the Scottish Ministers once it has published a new or updated strategy. This can be done by sending an email to procurementstrategies@gov.scot with a link to where the strategy can be accessed.
The Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland for 2023 to 2028 was published in April 2023. To mark the second anniversary of the strategy, we introduced eight Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help us measure progress against the strategy’s vision. It is expected that the national strategy will be reflected in individual procurement strategies and annual procurement reports published by contracting authorities in Scotland.
Annual Procurement Reports
Section 18 of the 2014 Act requires a contracting authority which is required to prepare or revise a procurement strategy in relation to a financial year to prepare an annual procurement report on its regulated procurement activities, as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of that financial year. This is important, as doing so will support increased transparency by ensuring, for example, that stakeholders have early visibility of the regulated procurements the contracting authority expects to commence in the next two financial years.
As with procurement strategies, a contracting authority with procurement expenditure of less than £5 million on regulated procurements in the financial year, while not legally required, is encouraged to publish an annual procurement report as a matter of good practice.
Based on previous years, it is reasonable to expect an annual procurement report to be published no later than six months following the end of the body’s financial year.
As with procurement strategies, section 19 of the 2014 Act also requires contracting authorities to notify Scottish Ministers of publication of their annual report. This can be done by sending an email to annualprocurementreport@gov.scot with a link to where the report can be accessed.
Individual annual procurement reports must meet the minimum requirements set out in section 18(2) of the 2014 Act.
Contracting authorities should complete the annex A data template for 2026 to 2027 reporting year, attached below, and send it to annualprocurementreport@gov.scot. The template was developed to assist contracting authorities meet their reporting obligations and to gather data in a consistent way.
Changes to the annex A data template (financial year 2026 to 2027)
In response to a recommendation by the Economy and Fair Work Committee following their review of the 2014 Act, the Scottish Government, in collaboration with cross-sectoral colleagues undertook a review of the annex A data template in 2025. The annex A data template had never been reviewed since its introduction. The agreed changes are detailed below.
New layout
Following feedback from Heads of Procurement, we have provided a Word and Excel version of the annex A data template to enable contract authorities to select their preferred type. The annex A data template has been reformatted to simplify the layout and group similar types of information together. SME, third sector bodies and supported businesses contract information have been moved to updated sections 7,8 and 9. Spend data has been grouped in section 10.
Section 3 - Review of regulated procurements compliance
This section has changed to Yes/No with a narrative box to better enable contracting authorities to provide a reason for determining why any procurements do not comply with their strategy.
Section 4 - Community Benefits requirements summary
To narrow the scope of contracts that need to be gathered and reported on, this section now only requires details of contracts equal to or greater than the community benefit threshold. However, this section also provides a (non-mandatory) option to include the provision of information about below threshold benefits secured where available, promoting good practice.
We have also replaced ‘social enterprises’ with ‘third sector bodies’ for consistency of reporting. Supplier profile functionality is now available in Public Contract Scotland (PCS) which allows contracting authorities to search for third sector bodies.
Section 6 - Payment performance
To further address the issue of late payment to suppliers, we have strengthened prompt payment reporting. An additional question has been added to report the number and value of contracts including the standardised statement associated with question 4C.4 of the Single Procurement Document (SPD). Contracting authorities who can gather this information should do so.
We have also included a new metric - value of invoices paid late by contracting authority to supplier which complements the existing questions of % of invoices paid on time.
Section 7, 8 and 9 – SME, third sector bodies and supported businesses
There was inconsistency in the previous annex A data template regarding information collected on SMEs, third sector bodies and supported businesses. The updated annex A data template standardises the information collected.
Guidance
For guidance on the content of an annual procurement report or procurement strategy, please consult the relevant chapter of the Statutory Guidance. Supplementary guidance for an annual procurement report and a procurement strategy is available in the Procurement Journey.
Dissemination
Please bring this SPPN to the attention of all relevant staff, including those in agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), and other sponsored contracting authorities within your area of responsibility.
Contact
Enquiries about this SPPN should be addressed to: scottishprocurement@gov.scot