Procurement in Scotland and the wider UK - a fork in the road

At around £290 billion every year, public sector procurement accounts for around a third of all public expenditure in the UK.

The formalities of competitive tendering for the supply of goods, services and works to the public sector (and those working within the utilities sector) are entering a period of change.

28 October 2024 has been set as the go-live date for the new UK procurement regime pursuant to the Procurement Act 2023.

At the same time, the UK government announced the establishment of a National Security Unit for Procurement, based within the Cabinet Office, which will work across government to investigate suppliers who could pose a risk to national security.

Suppliers and contracting authorities operating north of the border will know that Scotland opted out of the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”), choosing to maintain its own legal framework based on the existing Scottish Regulations which implement the EU law which applied in the UK prior to Brexit. This does not mean that the Act is irrelevant to the procurement landscape in Scotland. A number of contracting authorities will not fall within the Act’s definition of an excluded “devolved Scottish authority”, even if their primary place of operation is in Scotland. Contracting authorities whose functions either all relate to reserved matters or are not only exercisable in or as regards Scotland, will still need to comply with the Act.

With that in mind, not only do suppliers working across the UK need to be aware of the differences between the Act and the Scottish Regulations, but suppliers working solely for the public or utilities sectors based in Scotland may find that they have two different regimes to navigate. Our Procurement team will be publishing a manual to assist suppliers in that effort later this summer, which will highlight the 10 key differences between the Act and the Regulations that will affect the way suppliers steer their way through the procurement journey.

Key points include alternate approaches to the treatment of the contractual lifecycle of the works being procured, to rules governing framework procurements and to hot-topic matters including transparency and social value.

Construction firms should prepare for the upcoming adjustments by keeping abreast of the final implementation timescales and seeking appropriate training ahead of the Act entering into force. Our Construction and Procurement teams are well placed to assist with this.

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