Scottish Government procurement annual report: 2019

4. Contracting activity and how our procurement activity contributes to sustainable and inclusive economic growth

4.1 Summary of regulated procurements completed between April 2018 – March 2019

We recognise the power of procurement and our contracts continue to deliver a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits which are good for businesses, people and communities.

During the reporting period we managed 405 live contracts worth £6.2 billion, issued 223 Invitations to Tender, and awarded over 100 new contracts regulated by the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 with a total value of over £2 billion.

Through the inclusion of Fair Work criteria in our procurement activity our contracts continue to make a positive contribution to achieving good and sustainable employment for people working on public contracts. Ninety-three percent of our suppliers with current live contracts have committed to paying at least the Real Living Wage.

During the reporting period our contracts generated savings of £148 million.

Details of our contract awards are available on the Public Contracts Scotland website. Our website contains more information on our current collaborative agreements.

Spend Summary

The table below shows spend on collaborative frameworks (established by Scottish Ministers, but available to all Scottish public sector bodies) and contracts used by core Scottish Government organisations.

Additionally, our Central Government Procurement Shared Services (CGPSS) team awarded 26 contracts worth £10.2 million and generated savings of £350,000. Over half of these contracts were awarded to SMEs. These contracts were placed on behalf of other central government bodies separate to the Scottish Government and, if applicable, will be reported by them separately.

4.2 Review of whether our procurements kept to our Procurement Strategy published on 29 March 2018

Our Procurement Strategy sets out how we plan to carry our regulated procurement exercises. This annual report reflects on whether those procurements complied with that strategy during the period April 2018 to March 2019.

During that period, all regulated contracts were awarded in a way that meets the policies and principles set out in the strategy, and throughout this report we explain how this has been achieved.

We recognise the importance of those responsible for procurement having an appropriate level of delegated authority. Key to this is ensuring that those involved in awarding and managing contracts have the professional skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience to do so and that we continue to invest in their skills and capability development through our Procurement Competency Framework.

Our scheme of ‘delegated purchasing authority’, means that no member of staff is authorised to enter into a contract on behalf of Scottish Ministers without written delegated authority to do so from our Director of Procurement. That delegated authority is only given to those who can demonstrate they have the right skills, competencies and knowledge of our procurement policies and legal obligations.

Our programme of commercial capability training has continued, targeting all Scottish Government civil servants involved in buying goods, works and services, to ensure they understand and can contribute to our wider commercial and sustainability ambition. Commercial capability offerings were highlighted and trialled during our first Commercial Awareness Week in May 2018, with an ongoing programme of activities.

4.3 Summary of regulated procurements in the next two financial years

In the next two years we anticipate starting around 140 procurements worth a total of almost £2 billion. A full list of known regulated procurements is in Annex A.

Additional information regarding planned collaborative procurements can be found here.

In the next two years we also expect that:

• over 60 contracts will be awarded for the sole use of the Scottish Government, with an approximate value of £161 million;
• in addition, 20 contracts worth around £187 million will be awarded in relation to the specific services required to support the additional powers devolved to the Scottish Government by the Scotland Act 2016; and
• around 30 collaborative contracts will be awarded on behalf of Scottish public bodies, with an approximate value of £2.1 billion.