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Consultation on amending the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act’s thresholds

Procurement plays a vital role in delivering public services and supporting local economies. The Scottish Government, has recently launched their consultation seeking views on changing the thresholds within the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act).

These thresholds determine whether a procurement is regulated by the Act and therefore must follow specific rules around advertising, tendering, transparency, and community benefits.  They influence how contracts are awarded, transparency, and what social and environmental outcomes are considered.

Since the Act came into force over a decade ago, inflation has impacted upon the real value of these thresholds.

The consultation presents options for increasing the goods, services and works thresholds as well as options for decreasing the community benefits threshold.

The options for increasing the goods, services, and works thresholds are as follows:

• option 1: keep the thresholds the same as they currently are (£50,000 for goods and services and £2 million for works)
• option 2: adjust the thresholds in line with inflation (£70,000 for goods and services and £2.8 million for works), with updates every two years
• option 3: introduce a larger one-off increase (£100,000 for goods and services and £4 million for works)

In terms of amending the community benefits threshold the consultation is seeking views on the following four options:

• option A: no change (the threshold would remain at £4 million)
• option B: lower the threshold to £3 million
• option C: lower the threshold to £2 million
• option D: lower the threshold to £1 million

This consultation invites views on whether these thresholds should be amended and, if so, how. It is an opportunity to help shape the future of procurement in Scotland so whether you’re a supplier, public body, interested citizen, charity or third sector organisation – your voice matters.

Find out more in the Scottish Government’s recent blog, including how to take part.