Procurement Reform Bill Launched for Consultation

Tuesday, 14 August 2012, 5:16 PM

On 10th August the Scottish Government launched a public consultation on the Procurement Reform Bill; a major aspect of which is the promotion of sustainable procurement.

The stated aim of the consultation is to “establish a national legislative framework for sustainable public procurement that supports Scotland's economic growth by delivering social and environmental benefits, supporting innovation and promoting public procurement processes and systems which are transparent, streamlined, standardised, proportionate, fair and business-friendly.”

Part 4 of the consultation paper addressing ‘taking account of social and environmental sustainability issues through public procurement’, with questions 35-37 in particular asking for views on placing a sustainable procurement duty on public sector bodies, enforcement of any such duties, and for wider comments on sustainable procurement definitions and impacts.

Overall, the consultation paper covers a wide range of issues in relation to the procurement process.

The consultation paper is available on the Scottish Government website and the deadline for submissions is Friday 2nd November.

SSN will be discussing how it will respond to this consultation, drawing from its years of engagement on sustainable public procurement and the work of the SSN-led Sustainable Procurement Working Group. More information on our response will be featured in future SSN newsletters.