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| Single point of enquiry for business Sector: Central Government UK - The Scottish Government has introduced a new service to give advice on procurement issues for suppliers to the public sector in Scotland. The Single Point of Enquiry will provide advice on procurement issues and will work with the Scottish public sector to address supplier concerns and improve public procurement practice. Public sector procurement is worth around £8 billion a year in Scotland. Suppliers can approach the single point of enquiry, on a confidential basis, at spoeprocurement@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney said: "I am determined that procurement reform will deliver results, and this is a positive and welcome step. It will give suppliers, and their business organisations, a new channel to seek advice or register their concerns regarding public procurement practices. This will undoubtedly lead to improvements and better standards in procurement across the public sector." The new service offers an informal 'honest broker' channel to improve the interface between suppliers and buyers. Welcoming the new service, CBI Scotland's Director, Iain McMillan, said: "This 'one-stop-shop' is a welcome move to strengthen public procurement and the voice of business within it, raising standards across the public sector and ensuring that best practices become common practice throughout. This ought to benefit public procurers, private sector suppliers, and taxpayers alike. "The size and scope of Scotland's public sector highlights how public procurement is not just an issue about value for money and efficiency in public services, but that it goes right to the heart of the debate about growing our economy." Andrew Watson, spokesman for Federation of Small Business in Scotland, said: "The Single Point of Enquiry is another milestone in public procurement reform which should help improve public procurement. It cannot overturn the decisions of public agencies, but it will give businesses the opportunity to report examples of poor procurement practice and raise concerns about the way some buying organisations are performing. It will also enable the Scottish Procurement Directorate to identify any patterns or problems which can then be addressed with targeted action. "This latest improvement will help to cement Scotland's position as the most advanced part of the UK in terms of public procurement and, we hope, lead to noticeable benefits for both the public and private sector." The SPoE service was recommended by the Review of Public Procurement in Scotland. Its creation has been endorsed by the Public Procurement Reform Board and the Public Procurement Advisory Group and its Terms of Reference and Operating Instructions have been agreed with the Centres of Expertise (CoE) and all major Scottish business representative organisations. The SPoE is not a 'point of appeal' on procurement decisions nor will it influence or change sourcing decisions made by a contracting authority. It will offer a route whereby suppliers concerns and enquiries about procurement practices in public and publicly-funded bodies can be addressed, with a view to making improvements and raising standards in public procurement practices. The SPoE, in conjunction with the relevant CoEs, suppliers and stakeholders, will pursue the review and resolution of such issues and concerns and, if appropriate, seek to establish the need for any remedial action. In all cases suppliers will be advised to address issues, in the first instance, to the contracting authority concerned and to seek resolution or clarification at that level. Where the supplier has, unsuccessfully as they see it, pursued issues with contracting authorities and/or CoEs then the SPOE will seek to pursue positive outcomes. |