Post-legislative scrutiny
Call for views
Under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014
(‘2014 Act’), public bodies are required by law to consider how their
procurement activity can be used to improve the economic, social and
environmental wellbeing of their area and how they will facilitate the
involvement of SMEs, third sector and supported businesses and promote
innovation.
The 2014 Act is just one part of the legislative
framework covering procurement in Scotland. The Act created a legal framework
for contracts below the EU thresholds, complementing regulations derived from
EU directives on procurement.
The
Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee has heard evidence about the key role
of public procurement in the Scottish economy and has agreed to carry out
post-legislative scrutiny of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act (2014) (‘the
2014 Act’). The Committee invites you to
submit written evidence on how the act has impacted procurement in Scotland
since it came into force in April 2016.
The Committee will then consider the written evidence received and hold
an evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and
Culture to explore the issues raised.
The deadline for submitting evidence is 18
December.
Background
The 2014 Act places a number of general duties on
public bodies regarding their procurement activities and also places some
administrative requirements on higher spending public bodies to publish
procurement strategies and annual procurement reports.
Sustainable procurement duty - background
The sustainable
procurement duty, outlined in the 2014 Act, requires that before a contracting authority buys good
or services, it must think about how it can improve the social, environmental
and economic wellbeing of the area in which it operates, with a particular
focus on reducing
inequality.
Questions
1. Has
the sustainable procurement duty helped to improve social, environmental and
economic wellbeing and to reduce inequality?
2. What
are the barriers to the successful application of the sustainable procurement
duty, and what changes could be made to improve its impact?
3. How
can the impact of the sustainable procurement duty be measured?
4. How
has the Act affected public bodies consideration of climate policies and
the circular economy through their procurement activity?
Community benefit requirements - background
Under the 2014 Act, all Scottish public bodies must
consider the use of community benefit
requirements for regulated procurements where the estimated value of the
contract is £4 million or more. A community benefit is a contractual
requirement which can relate to training and recruitment or the availability of
sub-contracting opportunities. Alternatively, a community benefit can be intended
to improve the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of the authority's
area. Contracting authorities must state the
community benefit requirements in the contract notice, or where a requirement
is not imposed must state the reasons for not doing so. Contracting authorities
will have to report on their community benefit activities in the procurement
annual reports.
Questions
1. How
successful has the 2014 Act been in promoting community benefits through
procurement?
2. What steps could be taken to improve the use of
community benefit requirements in the public procurement system?
Fair work – background
Statutory
Guidance on Addressing Fair Work Practices, including the Living Wage,
requires public bodies to consider, before undertaking a procurement exercise,
whether it is relevant and proportionate to include a question on fair work
practices, to be evaluated along with other relevant criteria.
Public bodies are required to include in
their organisational procurement strategy a statement on their general policy
on "the payment of a living wage to persons involved in producing,
providing or constructing the subject matter of regulated procurements".
Annual procurement reports are required to include a review of whether those
procurements complied with the body's procurement strategy, including
compliance with this general policy statement.
Questions
1. What impact has the 2014 Act had on
promoting fair work as part of public procurement contracts?
2. How measurable is that impact?
3. How has the 2014 Act promoted the
payment of the real Living Wage?
4. What more could be done through
procurement activity to promote the real Living Wage and other fair work
practices?
Supporting SMEs and
local supply chains - background
The sustainable procurement duty under the 2014 Act
requires public bodies to consider how they might facilitate the involvement of
SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses in their
procurements and which should be designed in a way that encourages them to be
involved.
Questions
1. How is the
2014 Act supporting SMEs and local supply chains since it came into force
in 2016? Are there any changes that would promote increased involvement of
SMEs and local supply chains in public procurement contracts?
2. How
accessible is the public procurement process in Scotland to SMEs and local
supply chains?
3. Have SMEs
gained an increased share of public procurement contracts as a result of
the 2014 Act?
Prompt payment
The 2014 Act requires Scottish public bodies to set
out their prompt payment policy in
their procurement strategies.
Questions
1. What has been the
impact of this prompt payment policy requirement?
2. Are businesses
experiencing improved prompt payment as a result of this policy?
Process and guidance
1. What steps is the Scottish Government
taking to ensure that procurement manuals and guidance are adhered to?
2. How can long-term value be promoted
through the public procurement process (rather than lowest cost)?
3. How can the Scottish Government ensure
that SMEs are supported in their efforts to bid for public sector work?
4. How can the Scottish Government ensure that procuring
public authorities have access to the necessary skills to support bidders?
Closing date and how to submit your views
The closing date for receipt of submissions is Friday 22 January 2021.
Your response does not need to cover all questions and could focus on just those most relevant to you or your organisation.
Written responses should be sent electronically in Word format (not PDF) to the following address: [email protected].
We encourage members of underrepresented groups to submit evidence. We also welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language.
Please also note that submissions with defamatory content, references to ongoing court cases or third parties’ personal information will not be published online.
If you wish to request that your submission be published without your name, please contact us ([email protected]).
If you cannot submit electronically you may send in a hard copy written submission to:
Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee
Room T3.40
Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh EH99 1SP