Scottish Government says online tender portal saves £9 billion a year
Following a two-year progress report by The Scottish Government, it has concluded that Scottish businesses have ‘greater and more efficient’ access to £9 billion worth of public sector contract opportunities.
Published by Public Contract Scotland (PCS), the report says that 49,000 suppliers have registered to use the PCS online purchasing portal, which was launched in 2008, and that it expects the figure to reach 50,000 by early next year.
It also estimates that the ‘ease of accessibility’ and also the ‘reduced tendering time’ as a result of the portal, has saved business ‘tens of millions of pounds’.
John Swinney, cabinet secretary for finance and sustainable growth, said: “Since its launch in 2008, the Public Contract Scotland portal has transformed the way in which public sector bodies carry out the procurement of goods and services. The single-access site has introduced a level of transparency and functionality which is unparalleled across Europe and it is playing a key role in driving up standards of Scottish public sector procurement.
“By opening up contract opportunities to business and encouraging competition there have been significant cost-saving impacts to the public sector. In addition, the portal has simplified the tender process for business, reducing the administrative burden and resource previously associated with working with the public sector.”
Swinney continued: “Public sector procurement reform is an ongoing process, but, this two-year review demonstrates that efforts and innovations already in place have delivered real benefits to public sector organisations and business.”
Meanwhile, John McClelland, chair of Scottish Funding Council who launched the portal in 2008, said that he felt that public sector procurement in Scotland had ‘evolved rapidly’ since his Review of Public Procurement report in 2006, which has led to the current system in use in Scotland and said that Scotland was ‘leading the way’ in public sector procurement reform.
"The introduction of the portal was a major milestone because it brought together, for the first time, a focal point for public sector procurers and suppliers - it is a significant move and now we are building on it,” explained McClelland.
"When I conducted my review, time and time again suppliers and organisations such as Federation of Small Businesses, Chambers of Commerce and CBI, had a common complaint that was about lack of knowledge and ease of access to public sector contract opportunities. There is no doubt now that the PCS portal brings information and opportunity to the desktop of thousands of businesses."
It is unlikely that the creative industry in Scotland will celebrate in similar fashion, having long highlighted its complaints about public sector tendering through differing public sector organisations including the Scottish Government’s creative frameworks, and as recently this week following the news that St Andrews University appointed its own design and print department following a tender that received 47 submissions.