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Could you Reserve Contracts for Third Sector Organisations?

Buyers, did you know that you can reserve certain contracts for Third Sector Organisations?

Background

In a recent Policy Note, SPPN 2/2026, The Scottish Government explained how some tenders can be limited to specific bidders, helping you demonstrate your dedication to ethical procurement and Sustainable Procurement Duty.

This power, introduced by the new Regulation 76A in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, allows you as a buyer to restrict participation to ‘qualifying organisations’ for some health and social care service contracts.

Qualifying Organisations

A qualifying organisation:

• Exists exclusively to provide social and environmental benefits
• Is not established nor controlled by a public body
• Reinvests its profits into a social/environmental mission

In short, Third Sector Organisations, such as charities, voluntary organisations, and social enterprises would fall under this umbrella.

If you are unsure whether an organisation has these characteristics, you should start by doing some market research and checking if the company is registered with any of these bodies:

• Scottish Charities Register
• Office of the Regulator for Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)
• Financial Conduct Authority (for cooperatives)
• Scottish Housing Regulator

How to Find Qualifying Organisations

You can find qualifying organisations, by searching Public Contract Scotland (PCS) and filtering for Third Sector Organisations. 

However, as PCS relies on organisations’ self-declarations, you should always double-check the criteria have been met through other sources.

Similarly, Companies House allows you to find Community Interest Companies (CIC) through its Advanced Company Search feature, where you can select CIC as a company subtype filter. This can be another useful source to cross-check if an organisation falls under the right category.

Eligible Contracts

A list of the services you can reserve (and their CPV codes) can be found in SPPN 2/2026, these services include (but are not limited to)

• Health and social work
• Nursing and medical personnel
• Household and community services

The services listed can be changed by Scottish Ministers, so make sure you check the latest update of regulation before reserving a contract.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Of the eligible contracts, which you choose to reserve is up to you as a buyer, so when you make this decision keep the Sustainable Procurement Duty principles in mind and, above all, be transparent.

Support from the Supplier Development Programme

The Supplier Development Programme (SDP) works with its buyer partners on projects and webinars that encourage collaboration with Third Sector Organisations, for an example of this work, see SDP’s NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Anchors Procurement Development Project.

To discover how SDP can help you involve Third Sector Organisations in your supply chain, email info@sdpscotland.co.uk