The Scottish Government

The purpose of this guide is to provide information on selling to the Public Sector.

The Government and other parts of the public sector in Scotland are engaging with business organisations to improve the fairness and transparency of public sector procurement in Scotland. The Scottish Government aims to reduce "Barriers to Business" with the public sector. Key documents include:

• Tendering for Public Contracts: A short guide for businesses
• Suppliers' Charter
• Pre Qualification Questionaire

It has also resulted in the creation of Public Contracts Scotland, the national contracts advertising portal. This holds contracting opportunites from public sector organisations across Scotland. Suppliers are encouraged to regsiter and sign up for free email alerts.

Further guidance for suppliers includes the following documentation:

• Commodities Purchased 06/07 (goods, services and works purchased by the Scottish public sector in 2006/07)
• Scottish Public Sector Procurement Spend Breakdown 2006/2007 (percentage of expenditure the different areas of the Scottish public sector was responsible for in 2006/07)
• Scottish Contracting Authorities (currently using Public Contracts Scotland regularly)
• Links (to other useful sites)

Publication of the "Review of Public Procurement in Scotland" by John McClelland in March 2006 reinforced the initiatives proposed by the SME forum. The aim is to ensure that, wherever possible and, consistent with the need to secure value for money, suitably qualified SMEs have the opportunity to compete for public sector business.

The Public Procurement Advisory Group's remit is to provide an ongoing framework for dialogue about, and influence upon, public procurement practices as they affect suppliers. For the next 3 years there will be a particular focus on the implementation of the Reform programme.