Office of Government Commerce (OGC) - Scottish Procurement Directorate ( SPD ) Concordat
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is an independent Office of the Treasury reporting to the Chief Secretary. It publishes guidance on a wide range of best practice issues, in some cases this guidance is developed in consultation with the Scottish Procurement Directorate (SPD).
The development and application of public procurement policy and best practice in Scotland is a devolved matter and where SPD has published guidance on particular topics, this supersedes any corresponding OGC guidance. In other cases, SPD may wish to endorse OGC guidance, but with certain qualifications to take account of the separate Scottish policy and legislative context and/or Scots law.
Office of Government Commerce (OGC) guidance can be accessed via the OGC website
Care should be taken, when considering OGC guidance, that any potential differences in Scotland and SPD's website should be consulted to check whether different guidance applies in Scotland.
A Concordat exists between the Office of Government Commerce and the SPD. It sets out the mechanisms between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive for the handling of EU and international policy issues on public procurement. There is also a Memorandum of Understanding between the Scottish Executive and OGC Buying Solutions.
Concordat on Co-ordination of EU, International and Policy Issues on Public Procurement