Public procurement strategy: strategic environmental assessment

Pre-screening Notification

Responsible Authority

Scottish Government

Title of the plan

Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland

What prompted the plan (e.g. a legislative, regulatory or administrative provision)

In May 2021, the Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate (SPPD) published the findings of commissioned research conducted by Proxima to support the development of a Plan for the Future.

Among the findings of the research was the following:

"The independent view from Proxima is that Scottish Public Sector Procurement, led by the SPPD and the PPG – and including those Procurement leaders delivering excellence within wider Contracting Authorities, working to a set of strategic objectives over a five-year period, as part of a new National Procurement Strategy, can move Procurement within Scotland from 'good to great' and from 'best in class to truly world class'.

This National Procurement Strategy should be designed at the outset to achieve and maintain the 'culture of cohesive collaboration' as described by the Minister for Trade, Innovation and Public Finance, through continuing to foster and deliver procurement excellence at the local level and through working proactively with suppliers and the supply chain throughout Scotland."

As per the above, the desired outcome of the Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland is to give rise to a an ever more capable and cohesive public procurement community, increasing the public sector's capacity to deliver for the people and communities of Scotland.

Plan subject (e.g. transport)

Public Procurement across Scotland

Brief summary of the plan (including the area or location to which the plan related)

The Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland will set the strategic direction for the procurement leadership of public bodies. It will support public bodies in drafting their organisational procurement strategies and facilitate greater alignment and efficiencies across the public sector.

The intention behind developing a public procurement strategy is to supply a future high-level vision and roadmap for Scottish public procurement in the longer term which all public sector bodies can align and deliver against.

Brief summary of the likely environmental consequences (including whether it has been determined that the plan is likely to have no or minimum effects, either directly or indirectly)

The strategic aims will be set at a high, national level, with the expectation that the policies and initiatives that sit underneath will directly consider how they can address environmental consequences in their implementation. The Strategy itself will be clearly signposting that these policies and initiatives should be part of the focus for Public Procurement in Scotland.

As such, the inclusion of aims around waste reduction, sustainability, climate emergency and environment are only indirectly impacted by the Strategy, as organisations may choose not to align with the Strategy despite encouragement. It has therefore been considered that the Procurement Strategy itself will have minimal environmental effects.

Brief summary of how environmental principles have been considered (including whether any of the guiding principles, as set out in section 13 of the Continuity Act, are relevant to the plan)

While the guiding principles have been considered during preparation, they are not deemed relevant to the strategy due to the minor effects on the environment it is likely to have.

Contact details

Kirsty Lamb – Kirsty.lamb@gov.scot

Date of opinion

2 Feb 2023