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The Scottish Procurement Directorate has published the following Scottish Procurement Policy Notes.
SPPN 05/2008 summarises amendments to the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
These amendments relate principally to the procedure for amending threshold values, the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union and the need for contracting authorities to ensure a degree of advertising sufficient to enable open competition and comply with the EC Treaty principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency.
SPPN 06/2008 provides information on the new European Remedies Directive (2007/66/EC) which introduces changes to the legal remedies available to suppliers for breaches of EU procurement law.
SPPN 07/2008 relates to the OFT Statement of Objections concerning alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the construction industry.
SPPN 08/2008 indicates the Scottish Government's intention to consult on its approach to implementing the EU Remedies Directive (Directive 2007/66/EC). Consultees are invited to provide feedback on the approach to implementing the Directive into Scots law. The full consultation document has been published on the Scottish Government's website.
SPPN 09/2008 refers to guidance jointly released by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and HM Treasury on the competitive dialogue procedure which is available 'where a contracting authority wishes to award a particularly complex contract and considers that the use of the open or restricted procedure will not allow the award of that contract.
SPPN 10/2008 clarifies the application of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 to social care procurement/contracts. The Annex provides advice on the requirement to advertise social care contracts which should be awarded through open and fair competition. SPPN 10/2008 should be read in conjunction with SPPN 3/2006.
SPPN 11/2008 provides information on the revised Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) codes which came into effect on 15 September 2008. CPV coding is a single classification system for public procurement aimed at standardising the references used by contracting authorities to describe the subject of public contracts. The European Commission has revised these codes to take account of developments in the market and users' needs, to improve the text of the CPV and to make the CPV a more efficient tool for electronic public procurement.
SPPN 12/2008 provides information on the roll-out of the national advertising portal - Public Contracts Scotland - formally launched in October 2008. This portal enables public sector organisations, including housing associations, to advertise all contracting opportunities, irrespective of value. Advertisements which must be published on the website of the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) can be submitted through the portal to the Publications Office of the European Commission.
The portal can be accessed at www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk. A roll-out of training, marketing and communication is planned but in the meantime help and guidance are also available from support@publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk.
SPPN13/2008 provides information and seeks feedback on the draft Public Contracts and Utilities Contracts (Postal Services) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2008.
SPPN 14/2008 provides information about amending regulations which update the references to the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) codes in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/1) and the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/2).
SPPN 15/2008 encourages public sector organisations in Scotland to adopt best practice and the minimum specification standards given in the "Buy Sustainable- Quick Wins" list which has been recently updated and which may assist in achieving any sustainable development targets.
SPPN 16/2008 invites responses to a discussion paper which proposes to bring contractors, registered social landlords and trusts or bodies established by local authorities within the scope of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
The discussion paper and how to respond can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/FOI/Coverage. Responses should by made by 12 January 2009.
SPPN 17/2008 alerts users to the publication of the Scottish Procurement Policy Handbook. This provides an overarching statement of the fundamental rules, roles, responsibilities , behaviours and standards applicable to public sector procurement activity in Scotland. In a public sector organisation anyone with responsibility for procurement should follow the Handbook's principles and best practice.
SPPN 18/2008 confirms that postal services and certain related services have been brought within the scope of the Utilities (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/2) by the Public Contracts and Utilities Contracts (Postal Services and Common Procurement Vocabulary Codes) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (SSI 2008/376) which came into force on 12 December 2008.
SPPN1/2009 advises contracting authorities to exercise caution in applying the accelerated restricted procedure. This should only be used in urgent cases when the normal timescales can be reduced to an absolute minimum of 35 days (or 30 days if the notice is sent electronically) . The reasons for the use of the accelerated restricted procedure should be fully documented and retained on file.
You will find find a full list of Scottish Procurement Directive Policy Notes on the website of the Scottish Procurement Directive.