Procurement: SME and third sector action plan 2024-2026

Ministerial Foreword

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and third sector organisations are critical to the economic, social and environmental health of Scotland. These organisations are an integral part of the business community in Scotland and the Scottish Government is committed to leveraging procurement opportunities to help support SMEs and third sector organisations within the procurement process.

The Scottish Government has made ambitious strides to improve SME and third sector participation in the procurement process and in strengthening our supply chains. We are clear that we will always look at what more we can do to maximise the impact of public procurement in Scotland. In October 2023 the Scottish Government published The New Deal for Business Implementation Plan where we committed to publishing an SME and Third Sector Procurement Action Plan.

I am therefore delighted to present the Scottish Government’s SME and Third Sector Procurement Action Plan which supports our bold and ambitious work to drive public procurement forward in Scotland.

This action plan, alongside other initiatives in The New Deal for Business Implementation Plan, highlights our long standing commitment of engaging with, and listening to, industry feedback in order to reduce barriers, promote innovation and enable participation in public procurement. This action plan presents the steps we will take to increase and improve opportunities for SMEs and third sector organisations within the procurement process.

Through this plan we will work collaboratively with industry and in particular the Procurement Supply Group to support the implementation of the Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland.

I look forward to further engagement with businesses as well as seeing the positive outcomes which will result from this action plan.

Mr Tom Arthur

Minister for Community Wealth & Public Finance