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Scottish Government Publish Annual Report on Procurement Activity in Scotland 2023-2024

The Scottish Government has published the  annual report on procurement activity in Scotland for the 2023 to 2024 financial year, which highlights SDP’s role in supporting SMEs and Third Sector Organisations bid for public sector contracts.

This report, published in line with the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, shows how Scottish public bodies used their spending power to generate a range of positive economic, social and environmental benefits for individuals and organisations across Scotland. 

Key highlights from the report include: 

• In 2023 to 2024, known procurement spend by Scottish public bodies was £17.5 billion, of which £9.5 billion was spent in Scotland.
• £3.6 billion of known spend in Scotland was with suppliers based within the local authority area of the purchasing body.
• The spend supported around £14.7 billion of economic activity, 120,000 full-time equivalent jobs and contributed around £7.8 billion to Scottish GDP.
• According to Public Contracts Scotland data, 17,310 suppliers were awarded contracts in 2023 to 2024.
• Scottish-based suppliers received 71.5% of these contracts and small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) received 78.2% of these contracts.
• Third sector organisations received an estimated £1.2 billion of spend in Scotland during the reporting year.

The full report can be accessed on the Scottish Government website.

Support from the Supplier Development Programme (SDP)

SDP supports the Scottish Government’s Procurement Strategy by helping get Scottish-based SMEs and third sector organisations get ‘tender ready’ for opportunities and to ensure public sector procurement is open and connected to all.

During the 2023 to 2024 reporting period, SDP hosted 106 FREE tender training and Meet the Buyer events, which supported 3,512 individuals from 2,927 unique businesses.

Keep an eye on the SDP Event Calendar for upcoming training and events to make the most of SDP’s free support to improve your chances of winning a share of the £17.5 billion public procurement spend.