Scottish procurement policy handbook

13. Community Benefits

Community Benefits in public procurement contribute towards achieving the aims of the Sustainable Procurement Duty. In addition to the Sustainable Procurement Duty, Community Benefits are enshrined in the 2014 Act through a specific provision (s. 24) to consider their use for all contracts of £4 million or more. Community Benefit requirements are contractual requirements used by public bodies relating to:

• training and recruitment, or
• the availability of sub-contracting opportunities, or
• which are otherwise intended to improve the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of the authority’s area in a way additional to the main purpose of the contract in which the requirement is included.

For more information on Community Benefits policy, please see the statutory guidance which provides information on:

• when to use Community Benefit requirements
• identifying Community Benefit requirements through stakeholder consultation
• incorporating Community Benefit requirements into the procurement process.

Community Wealth Building

Public procurement is central to delivering the spending pillar of Community Wealth Building in Scotland, as illustrated in the publication of Scotland’s journey of achieving sustainable procurement outcomes 2002-2022: independent review.

Under the 2014 Act, public bodies must consider and act on opportunities to achieve environmental, economic and social benefits through spending on goods, services and works, and in doing so, can help contribute towards Community Wealth Building.