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Crown Commercial Service Joins SDP

The Supplier Development Programme (SDP), a Scottish business support body, has welcomed Crown Commercial Service (CCS) as the first UK public sector body to join its programme.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2023/24, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £4.9 billion - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.

By joining SDP, CCS will continue to build upon this record of responsible procurement and help more Scottish SMEs join its supply chain. This approach reinforces CCS’s commitment to the Procurement Act 2023 pillars of social value and sustainability.

Working toward these shared goals, SDP will promote CCS upcoming contracts to the Programme’s network of over 21,500 Scottish SMEs and Third Sector Organisations. SDP will also share updates of these opportunities among its Local Authority and Affiliate Members promoting cross-border collaboration and transparency.

Gillian Cameron, SDP Programme Manager, said:

“We are delighted to have Crown Commercial Service join the Programme as our new Affiliate Member. This collaboration will support SDP’s long-term vision, of helping Scottish SMEs win their share of UK-wide contracts. Our Local Authority Members do use CCS’s framework agreements, and they are keen that local suppliers bid and win places on them, to boost economic growth and support Scotland’s Community Wealth Building initiative.”

She added: “To kick off our partnership, we were delighted to have CCS exhibit and deliver a keynote session at our Meet the Buyer National event, on 4 June, at Murrayfield Stadium! We look forward to engaging with the CCS team on future events and webinars.”

See the full SDP events calendar here.