Procurement activity: annual report overview 2020 to 2021

2. Highlights

Overview of procurement activity

5,421

5,421 regulated contracts were awarded across the 118 reporting bodies providing the relevant information in their annual procurement reports (compared with 5,043 contracts last year, across 102 public bodies).

Good for the economy

£12.5bn

The £14.5 billion of procurement spending in 2020 to 2021 supported around £12.5 billion ofeconomic activity, around 120,000 full-time equivalent jobs and contributed around £6.9 billion to Scottish GDP.

Good for society

81%

81% of public bodies provided evidence in their reports of the ways in which they had carried out their procurement activity with regard to equal treatment and non-discrimination.

£14.5bn

Total Scottish public sector procurement spend (in Scotland and elsewhere) reached £14.5 billion. In Scotland alone, total spend was £8.3 billion (compared with £7.4 billion last year).

71%

71% of reporting bodies provided evidence of how they were addressing environmental wellbeing and climate change through procurement (compared with 67% last year).

15,656

15,656 suppliers were awarded public contracts through PCS, of which 76% were SMEs (compared with 18,421 suppliers last year, of which 79% were SMEs).

Good for businesses and their employees

22,620

The £8.3 billion of Scottish public body procurement spend in Scotland was spent with 22,620 suppliers, with many more businesses benefiting within our supply chains (compared with £7.4 billion of spend with 25,611 suppliers last year).

Good for places and communities

£3.9bn

Almost half (48.7%, or £3.9 billion) of public procurement spend in Scotland was spent with suppliers based in the 60% most deprived areas in Scotland (where SIMD classification is known) (compared with 52.8% or £3.8 billion last year).

£3.6bn

£3.6 billion (or 43.7%) of spend in Scotland was with suppliers based within the local area of the purchasing body.

51 pence

51 pence in every pound spent with suppliers in Scotland went to an SME (where business size is known) (compared with 58 pence in every pound last year).

65%

65% of reporting bodies delivered apprenticeships as a result of community benefit requirements, while 59% of bodies delivered work placements (compared with 71% and 65% last year).

£944.4m

Approximately £944.4 million of Scottish public body procurement spend in Scotland was with third sector organisations.

1,700

Across 95 public bodies, around 1,700 regulated contracts including a scored Fair Work criterion were awarded (compared with 1,008 regulated contracts across 84 public bodies last year).

Open and connected

89%

89% of public bodies provided evidence in their reports that they had carried out their procurements in a transparent manner (compared with 79% last year).