PROCUREMENT STRATEGY2020/2021

Content

Scottish Enterprise's Procurement Executive Summary

Our Strategic Procurement Agenda

Our Response to the Climate EmergencyOur Approach to Community Wealth Building

Our Procurement

Our Strategic Economic Agenda 

Our PeopleOur Partners

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Ensuring equalityOur prospective and existing suppliers

Paying the Living Wage through our regulated procurementRealising inclusive sustainable growth Our Continuous improvementOur Management Information Ensuring health, safety and wellbeing Our TeamEnsuring compliance ConclusionGlossary

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Front cover - Bio-tech company in Dundee

Our Savings and wider benefits

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COVID 19 is having a profound impact on allaspects of Scottish business. We are living inunprecedented times. Scottish Enterprise, isworking in partnership, to provideappropriate support and guidance tobusinesses to enable them to get throughthis difficult period. SE’s procurement teamwill be working to ensure we can undertakethis work as efficiently and effectively aspossible.

Scottish Enterprise Procurement Executive Summary

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The Scottish Enterprise (SE) Strategic Framework 2019-22, ‘BuildingScotland’s Future Today’ clearly sets out our priorities, areas of focusand what we will deliver as an organisation. It highlights how we willwork with partners to support the Scottish Government’s goal ofincreasing Scotland’s sustainable long-term economic growth. We have a legal obligation to ensure compliance with the ScottishPublic Procurement Regulations to conduct public procurement fairly,transparently and to advertise contract opportunities. In addition tolegal compliance, our key strategic imperatives are CommunityWealth Building and the Climate Emergency. Our Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2019/2022 demonstrates SE’songoing commitment to the delivery of inclusive, sustainableprocurement and details how we champion this approachthroughout the organisation. In 2020/21, SE Procurement is workingwith a Sustainable Procurement expert to review and strengthen ourapproach and application of sustainability and in particular, carbonreduction. As a result, we will be updating our SustainableProcurement Strategy in 2020/21. Community Wealth Building aims to increase procurement spendwith local and regional suppliers whilst maintaining the necessarycompliance with applicable procurement regulations. Going forward,SE will review procurement strategies for larger, SE-wide contractsand where appropriate, split these into smaller regional lots. We arealso going to collaborate more closely with partner organisations ona regional basis for relevant contracts to build on this further. In the most recent SG Procurement and Commercial ImprovementProgramme (PCIP) assessment of SE Procurement, we achieved thehighest rating. We continue to be one of the leading Scottish publicprocurement organisations in terms of our overall benchmarkingscore and will strive to maintain this level. In line with this aim, ourprocesses are continuously reviewed and updated. One area that weare working to develop further is contract management.

Our Strategic Economic Agenda 

“To focus on creating a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through increased wellbeing, and sustainable and inclusive economic growth”1

Aligned with the frameworks provided by‘Protecting Scotland's Future: The Government'sProgramme for Scotland 2019-2020, Scotland’sEconomic Action Plan’, the Enterprise and SkillsStrategic Board’s Action Plan and guidancecontained within ‘A Trading Nation’, ourambition, together with our partners, is to buildvibrant economic communities acrossScotland, further enhance Scotland’sreputation and reach, foster resilience andgrowth in Scotland’s businesses, sectors andregions, and look to future economicopportunities that will drive Scotland’sinternational advantage.   The Scottish Enterprise (SE) StrategicFramework 2019-22, ‘Building Scotland’s  Future

1. Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister of Scotland, Protecting Scotland's Future: the Government's Programme for Scotland 2019-2020

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Today’ clearly sets outour priorities, areas offocus and what we willdeliver as anorganisation. It buildson our achievementsin recent years andhighlights how we willwork with partners tosupport the ScottishGovernment’s goal ofincreasing Scotland’ssustainable long-termeconomic growth.

Our Strategic Procurement Agenda

2 Steve Dunlop, CEO, SE, Building Scotland’s Future Today, SE’s Strategic Framework 2019/2022

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We have a legal obligation to ensurecompliance with the Scottish PublicProcurement Regulations such as PublicContracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, theProcurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014,the Procurement (Scotland) Regulations2016, and the Remedies Directive. Theserequire us to conduct public procurementfairly, transparently and to advertisecontract opportunities. These obligationswill remain for 2020/21. In addition to legal compliance, our keystrategic imperatives are CommunityWealth Building and the ClimateEmergency.

“We need to work hand in hand with partners and friends who share our vision, rallying together in a more open and collaborative way so we can maximise opportunities and tackle the big challenges.”2

Our Response to the Climate Emergency

3. https://www.gov.scot/publications/protecting-scotlands-future-governments-programme-scotland-2019-20/pages/5/4. https://www.gov.scot/policies/climate-change/reducing-emissions/

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“Scotland is facing a climate emergency. Like the rest of the world, we must act to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change on our people and our planet.”3

“The Climate Change (Emissions ReductionTargets) (Scotland) Act 2019, which amends theClimate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, setstargets to reduce Scotland's emissions of allgreenhouse gases to net-zero by 2045 at thelatest, with interim targets for reductions of atleast 56% by 2020, 75% by 2030, 90% by 2040.”4

Scottish public procurement are contributing toclimate change targets, and are required toreport annually on how their procurementpolicies and activity have:

contributed to carbon emissions reduction targetscontributed to climate change adaptationacted sustainably

Our Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2019/2022demonstrates Scottish Enterprise’s (SE) ongoing

commitment to the delivery of inclusive, sustainable procurementand details how we champion this approach throughout theorganisation. As part of our commitment to ensuring thatsustainability is embedded throughout the procurement lifecycle,we have implemented Scottish Government’s (SG's) SustainabilityTest. Our team have undertaken sustainable procurement trainingwhich included reviewing SG's sustainability assessment tools andexploring how sustainability, including carbon reduction, can berealised throughout the procurement process. In 2019/2020 wereviewed our procurement processes in relation to sustainability andcompleted further sustainability training.

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The use of the Sustainability Test ensures that we considerrelevant environmental and socio-economic risks andopportunities for each contract and provides guidance on anyactions that need to be taken. This test is now applied on anindividual contract basis for all regulated procurement attender strategy stage, with specific requirements andevaluation criteria being included in our tenders, whereappropriate. We anticipate that this will result in sustainabilityoutcomes and carbon reduction requirements being includedin a higher percentage of contracts. Delivery of sustainableprocurement is measured through our KPI’s. We will continue to consider the whole life cost andenvironmental impact of our contracts, where relevant andproportionate. Specifically within construction projects we areadopting the Scottish Futures Trust Whole Life Costing tool forregulated construction procurements. We will also activelyencourage recycling and the reuse of materials; maximising theuse of materials from sustainable sources in accordance withthe government buying standards and considering EPC ratingsduring the procurement of construction contracts whererelevant. We actively encourage and promote low carbon options withinprocurement. SE publishes an annual Climate Change reportwhich outlines SE’s commitment to supporting the SG's strategyof sustainable economic growth. SE’s aim was to create asustainable working environment and we have exceeded ourtarget of an overall reduction of carbon emissions of 42% of CO2by 2020 from our baseline year of 2009-10.

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The improvement of resource efficiency plays a central rolein reduction of energy demands and overall greenhouse gasemissions. SE Procurement requests details from suppliers oftheir resource efficiency policies and practices, along withmonitoring suppliers’ membership of Resource EfficientScotland Pledge. In 2020/21, SE Procurement is working with a SustainableProcurement expert to review and strengthen our approachand application of sustainability and in particular, carbonreduction. As a result, we will be updating our SustainableProcurement Strategy in 2020/21.

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Our Approach to Community Wealth Building

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Community Wealth Building aims to increase procurementspend with local and regional suppliers whilst maintaining thenecessary compliance with applicable procurementregulations. We have worked to place a greater emphasis oncreating more opportunities for local and regional ScottishSME’s and third sector suppliers. In 2019/20, as part of the workto ensure Scottish Enterprise (SE) procurement activity furtherbenefits communities across Scotland, SE Procurement hasrefreshed its approach to contracting strategies. To enable thischange, SE reviewed available evidence from similarapproaches elsewhere, including the work being undertakenby North Ayrshire Council and further afield in Lancashire. As part of this work, we undertook an analysis of our procuredspend for 2017/18 and 2018/19 by geography to gain a baseline.Going forward, SE will work to place a greater emphasis oncreating more opportunities for local and regional ScottishSMEs and third sector suppliers by reviewing procurementstrategies for larger, SE-wide contracts and where appropriate,split these into smaller regional lots. We are also going tocollaborate more closely with partner organisations on aregional basis for relevant contracts to build on this further. Anexample of where this approach is being implemented is theFacilities Management of our SE occupied buildings, where weare splitting contracts based on geographic region andspecialist trades. This aligns with our increasing focus on“Place”, within SE's Strategic Framework, ensuring all regionsbenefit from our activity. Going forward we will undertakeanalysis of our procured 2019/20 spend to understand ourprogress.

Our Procurement

Scottish Enterprise (SE) Procurement team aims to make ameaningful contribution to Scotland's Economic Strategy andSE’s Strategic Framework through our delivery of a transparent,efficient and effective procurement service which contributes toScotland’s inclusive growth, offers best value, is legally compliantand follows best practice. We align with SE's Corporate Plan andits aims to: -

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Build vibrant economic communities across Scotland, spreading increased wealth and wellbeing.Build Scotland’s reputation and reach in strategically important markets.Build resilience and growth in Scotland’s businesses, sectors and regions.Build future economic opportunities that will drive our international advantage.

We will work with internal and external stakeholders and thesupply chain, collaborate across the public sector, and ensurewe have a professional and capable team. We will continuouslyimprove and measure our progress through the use ofcustomer and supplier surveys, external evaluation throughScottish Government assessments and delivery of efficiencysavings and relevant Key Performance Indicators. SE Procurement follows the ‘Scottish Model of Procurement’,using the Scottish Government’s Procurement Journey as thebasis for our operations. SE will continue to consider the use ofcollaborative Framework Agreements developed by the ScottishProcurement and Commercial Directorate, and CrownCommercial Services where appropriate. Where no appropriateframeworks are available, for regulated procurement (over£50k), the procurement team will work with our internalcustomers to develop and procure standalone contracts.

Our early engagement with project managers ensures thatprocurement options are discussed and agreed, and that themost appropriate approach is developed to deliver therequirements of the business, including value for money,sustainability and our policy ambitions with regards to inclusivegrowth. We will continue to use the open procedure for the majority ofour procurement activity. This increases opportunities forsuppliers (SMEs in particular) and reduces paperwork andtimescales. Our policy is, other than in exceptionalcircumstances, to advertise tender opportunities above £50k,excluding VAT, on the Public Contracts Scotland portal to reachthe widest possible number of potential suppliers. We will continue to award our contracts on the basis of the MostEconomically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), considering abalance between price and quality in all procurementdecisions. At the end of each regulated procurement process, in line withlegislative requirements, we will complete a tender completionreport that reviews and records the procurement exercise,including lessons learned. We will work continuously to improveour policies and procedures for our internal customers andsuppliers and, as far as is reasonably practicable, we will ensurethat our regulated procurement is carried out in accordancewith this Procurement Strategy.

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Our savings and wider benefits

We will provide a high-quality service for our internal customers which is:

responsive, pragmatic,timely, anddelivers value for money

Since 2008/09, SE Procurement has consistently exceeded theScottish Government’s cashable savings target of 3%, and in2018/19 a cashable saving of 4% was achieved. In 2019-20 and2020-21, we are forecasting cashable savings of 4%. Our savings from the use of collaborative Scottish Governmentframework agreements is included in the above figure. Usingthese frameworks has, and will continue to, provide a quicker,compliant and efficient procurement route for theorganisation. Cash savings are nothing if not accompanied by services thatmeet customer requirements, so our processes will continue toensure that our contracts are effective, meet stakeholderexpectations and deliver on SE’s objectives. Additionally, we fully recognise the ability of our contractingactivities to leverage wider benefits for our communities. Thesebenefits can be extremely varied, ranging from trainingopportunities such as apprenticeships to promoting careers toschool children from disadvantaged areas.

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We are working to create sustainable and inclusive economicgrowth. We are encouraging our suppliers to ‘give somethingback’ through the use of community benefit clauses withinprocurement exercises where appropriate and manage ourcontracts to ensure that community benefits offered by suppliersare realised. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are reported to the ScottishProcurement Information Hub on a quarterly basis. Also, SEProcurement has internal measures which include: –

Procurement cash savings Internal customer satisfaction Supplier satisfaction Contracts awarded to supported businesses

17/18Actual

7%

100%

100%

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18/19Actual

4%

100%

100%

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19/20 Forecast

4%

100%

100% 6

19/206 month

3%

100%

100% 6

20/21Forecast

4%

100%

100% 6

Our People

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Where appropriate, procurement is included as part of theinduction process for new employees. Further tailoredprocurement training will be provided to staff depending ontheir post and responsibility. Each SE division has a named Procurement contact with anin-depth knowledge of the division and the associatedcategories of procurement activity required. These contactsdeliver regular presentations at operational team meetingsto share good practice, refresh the knowledge of theoperational teams and ensure our internal customers knowhow we can assist them. Our Procurement team are based inour various offices across Scotland to ensure that they areaccessible and available to help in person where needed. All internal customers who use the Public Contracts Scotland(PCS) Quick Quotes (QQ) system are given annual training bya member of the procurement team to ensure that theyunderstand the system, internal processes and externalrequirements for under £50k procurements. To measure the quality of the Procurement team’s delivery ofservice, we undertake regular internal customer surveys. In2018/19, 100% of respondents surveyed about their experienceof the team agreed that they were satisfied with the servicethey have received from SE Procurement and were satisfiedwith their working relationship with their procurementcontact. The half yearly figures for 2019-20 reflects similarlevels of customer satisfaction.

In addition to the above, the SE Procurement Intranet site allowscolleagues to report any concerns regarding potentiallyfraudulent activity, ensuring further transparency in theprocurement process. We also solicit suggestions fromcustomers as to how our processes and procedures can beimproved.

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Our Partners

Close collaboration is central to achieving SE’s objectives, andthe SE Procurement team will continue to work closely with theScottish Government in this respect. We have contributed tomany of the Scottish Government’s working groups toimprove procurement policy and process across the publicsector, and we are currently members of: -

the Procurement Collaboration Group,the Contract and Supplier Working Group,the Supported Businesses Working Group,the Professional Practice and Development Strategic Forum, andthe Procurement Innovation Leadership Group.

In relation to Innovation, we sit on the Government’sProcurement Innovation Leadership Group, with the aim ofimproving the Scottish public sector’s approach to theprocurement of innovation. Scottish Enterprise is workingwith Scottish Government and several other public sectorbodies to develop knowledge and guidance on theInnovation Partnership Procurement process. We will continue to participate in the procurement ofScottish Government collaborative frameworks as arepresentative of both SE and the wider public sector inScotland. We will continue to undertake collaborative procurementwith organisations where applicable, recent examplesinclude working with organisations such as:

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• Scottish Government• Scottish Futures Trust• Scottish Funding Council• South of Scotland Enterprise• Highlands and Islands Enterprise• NHS Scotland• Fife Council• Dundee City Council• Edinburgh City Council• University of Edinburgh• Michelin• Scottish National Investment Bank This collaborative approach assists SE in achieving itsobjectives and delivers efficiencies through economies of scaleand reduction of resources required to undertake procurement. Sharing best practice, skills and knowledge is key to our work.We collaborate with other public sector organisations througha ‘cluster’ approach where we are the lead organisation for agroup of other Central Government organisations facilitatingthe sharing of knowledge, encouraging partnership workingand assisting our cluster partners to ensure that the publicsector delivers value for money, policy objectives and meetsthe expectations of stakeholders. The Enterprise and Skills Board’s Strategic Plan has consideredhow activities can be delivered more cohesively to ScottishBusinesses, and through working in collaboration with otherbodies and seeking to align activities where possible. SE willseek, where appropriate, to collaborate on procurementactivities to maximise SE’s contribution to economicdevelopment and inclusive growth in Scotland.

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Our prospective and existing suppliers

To ensure transparency, and to assist prospective andexisting suppliers and other stakeholders, the Procurementsection on the Scottish Enterprise website includes our:

Procurement StrategyForward Procurement PlanProcurement Annual ReportSustainable Procurement Strategy,Our standard terms and conditions, Our commitment to the Government’s Suppliers’ Charter, Links to Scottish Government information on Scottish public sector procurement

We will continue to be members of the Supplier DevelopmentProgramme, a partnership of Local Authorities, ScottishGovernment and other public bodies working together toprovide support to businesses in all aspects of tendering. Aspart of this work, we attend regular Meet the Buyer sessions,providing a platform for suppliers to meet our procurementspecialists to discuss future contract opportunities. We undertake supplier surveys to understand suppliersatisfaction with, and to improve on, our processes. FromMarch 2016, SE Procurement has been surveying all of oursuccessful tenderers on regulated contracts to understand if,in their opinion, they were treated fairly and transparentlyand if we could improve our processes to reduce the burdenon suppliers. For the 2018 - 19 period, responses to our suppliersurvey were 100% positive, and our mid-year figures reflectsimilar feedback.

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We are committed to paying our suppliers promptly, ourstandard terms and conditions stating that we will payundisputed invoices within 30 days from receipt. Further, toensure that this flows through the supply chain, we haveincluded a additional clause requiring our principalsuppliers to pay their sub-contractors within the sametimescales and to incorporate this throughout their supplychain. Since November 2008 SE policy has been to pay validinvoices within 10 working days for all suppliers. In the yearended 31 March 2019, Scottish Enterprise paid 76% (2018: 81%)of suppliers’ invoices within the revised standard. Theaverage number of days taken to pay valid invoices duringthe year was 9.8 days (2018: 7.9 days). We will continue ourcommitment to pay undisputed invoices within 10 days. We will continue to review and update our procurementpolicies and procedures to ensure that we contribute toimproving social, economic and environmental wellbeingwhere relevant in delivering our contracts. We willencourage a diverse range of suppliers including SMEs, thethird sector and supported businesses to tender for ourcontracts through our approach. SMEs play a vital role in Scotland’s economy, providingsignificant employment opportunities and providinginnovative solutions to our requirements. Currently, annualprocurement spend with SMEs represents of 50% of SE totalspend; in 2018-19 our contracted spend with SMEs was 59%.

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We will continue to adopt contracting strategies to ensurethat SMEs have fair and equal access to our tenderopportunities, and to encourage new suppliers to work withus. In 2018-19 76% of the organisations with whom SE hascontracted were SME suppliers, and we aim to maintainthat figure for 2019-20. In relation to Supported Businesses, we have recentlyretendered our meeting room hospitality for four of ourlarger offices. This contract has been awarded to Social Bitefor a period of 12 months. Social Bite is a Social Enterpriseoffering all profits to good causes and free food to thosewho find themselves homeless. They are also a ScottishGovernment designated Supported Business, offeringemployment within their organisation to people who havebeen homeless. Social Bite continues to expand and haverecently developed their business to create Social BiteDelivers which focuses on corporate catering. Reusableplatters, recyclable packaging and locally sourcedingredients are provided.

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Ensuring equality

We are required to consider equality throughout our tenderprocesses. Where appropriate, we carry out an EqualOpportunity Impact Assessment at procurement stage andsuppliers are required to provide full details of equalitypolicies and processes that will be utilised when deliveringthe contract. The requirement to comply with equalitieslegislation is also reflected in our standard terms andconditions. In line with the Scottish Government’s “A Fairer Scotland forAll: Race Equality Action Plan 2017-21” and the Public SectorEquality Duty we will review our training and guidancerelating to equality provided to our procurementprofessionals and to suppliers. In addition, all SE employeeshave carried out “Unconscious Bias” awareness training. We have reviewed our procurement policies andprocedures to strengthen our ambitions towards InclusiveGrowth and, in line with guidance from ScottishGovernment, we are including Fair Work Practices asevaluation criteria within our tenders. Going forward we willimplement the Fair Work First policy. Further we will bemonitoring the number of successful supplierorganisations which are Women led to gain an insight intothe number of such businesses with whom we contract.

Paying the Living Wagethrough our regulated procurement

We will continue to incorporate evaluation of Fair Workelements into all tenders where the use of labour is key to thedelivery of the contract. We are committed to promoting theuse of the Real Living Wage and this is reflected throughout ourtender processes. SE is a Real Living Wage Employer and therefore, wheresuppliers have staff working on SE premises, we ensure thatthese employees are being paid the Real Living Wage. Also, wemonitor the use of zero hours contracts to ensure that theseare not used by our suppliers in an inappropriate manner inthe delivery of any services to SE. We include questions on thereal living wage and use of zero hours contracts within ourtenders for the purposes of monitoring and reporting on thesein our KPIs.

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Realising inclusive sustainable growth

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The SE Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2019/22 reflects theSustainable Procurement Duty in the Procurement Reform(Scotland) Act 2014 and sets out how we intend to ensurebest practice and to meet our legal and financialobligations, as well as achieve wider economic, social andenvironmental benefits. We will continue to focus on professional development andtraining within the procurement team which will assist inmaximising procurement benefits within SE, while alsohelping to realise the Scottish Government’s overarchingsustainability objectives. Also, to further strengthen ourcommitment to sustainability, we have identified aProcurement Sustainability Champion to ensure thatsustainability is embedded within all relevant work. Within our construction and infrastructure projects wespecify high BREEAM (Building Research EstablishmentEnvironmental Assessment Method), standards wherepractical, and include WRAP (Waste and Resources ActionProgramme) requirements to minimise the amount ofconstruction waste sent to landfill. We seek to reduce consumption of paper, energy, water andgeneration of waste where possible by recycling and the useor reallocation of goods and materials, and consider the useof Fair Trade products, or similar, wherever possible. Withinour tenders we are increasingly encouraging the use oftechnology to minimise travel and the associated emissions.

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Our Continuous improvement

The Scottish Government has been undertaking capabilityassessments with public sector procurement organisationssince 2010/11, and in the most recent Procurement andCommercial Improvement Programme (PCIP) assessment ofSE Procurement, undertaken in summer 2019, we achieved thehighest rating. We continue to be one of the leading Scottishpublic procurement organisations in terms of our overallbenchmarking score and will strive to maintain this level.Further we have participated in the pilot of the ConstructionProcurement Capability Assessment. In line with this aim, our processes are continuously reviewedto take account of revisions to legislation, Scottish GovernmentProcurement Policy Notes and the outputs from ScottishGovernment’s various procurement and commercial workinggroups. In addition, we ensure information from our lessonslearned process, as well as feedback from internal customersand suppliers, is used to improve our processes andprocedures. One area that we are working to develop further is contractmanagement. In accordance with Procurement Journey bestpractice, we have completed the Scottish ContractManagement Benchmarking Survey which is used to informcontract management development across Scotland.Contract and Supplier Management is not currentlyundertaken by the Procurement team and is part of the dutiesof individual Project Managers across the business. We includecontract management guidance to Project Managers withinour processes, as well as providing appropriate supportingdocumentation.

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In line with good practice and as outlined in the PCIPprocess, we will continue to work with other SE teams tofurther develop contract and supplier management acrossScottish Enterprise. In 2020/21 we will roll out the ScottishGovernment’s contract management e-learning modules tostrengthen and improve contract management across SEand will be working with contract managers and keystrategic suppliers to streamline contract management.

We produce a quarterly progress report to informmanagement of the value of procurement undertaken andthe savings generated. Where relevant, this managementinformation report informs the upward briefing for seniormanagement and for Scottish Government. We produce a: • Procurement Strategy• Sustainable Procurement Strategy• Procurement Forward Plan• SE Procurement Annual Report

Our Management Information

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A Wellbeing Hub has been developed to give support andguidance to employees. Employees' wellbeing is animportant factor in successfully delivering change andlonger-term priorities. We recognise the importance of ensuring that we complywith the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have acomprehensive Health and Safety Policy and associatedguidance/procedures which relate to staff and contractors.Further, health and safety policies are covered in ourstandard terms and conditions to ensure that supplierscomply with all relevant regulations and best practice.  It isalso important that SE works with reliable contractors whoare familiar with this legislation, understand theirresponsibilities and operate safe systems of work. Publishedguidelines ensure that contractors comply with theprovisions made under the act and all relevant regulatoryrequirements. In addition, where Health and Safety is of keyimportance to a contract then this will be further set out inthe invitation to tender, included as part of the tenderevaluation process and suppliers may be requested tosupply method statements and details of their policies.When required the Health and Safety team is involved in theevaluation of tender submissions. Our work rarely involves the procurement of food, with theexception of our internal catering contracts, however werecognise the Scottish Government’s ambition to helpimprove the Nation’s health and wellbeing through theinformed public procurement of food and drink, and this isreflected within our catering tenders that request suppliersprovide healthy options. Where appropriate we will includea requirement within our contracts to ensure that all foodsupplied will be in accordance with statutory provisionswith respect to animal welfare.

Ensuring health, safety and wellbeing

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Flexible and ongoing learning is important in maintaining aresponsive and up to date team. There has been and willcontinue to be a focus on developing the procurementteam professionally to ensure they have both the skills andknowledge to maximise the benefits of procurement to SE.

The Head of Procurement holds an MBA with ProcurementThe Team Leader has an MSc in ProcurementSix members of the Procurement team are members of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS) Two members of the procurement team are working towards this qualification

These qualifications are invaluable in maintaining the levelof knowledge and skills required to operate in a complexlegislative and policy environment whilst delivering aneffective procurement service to the business. To further ensure that we have the skills to deliver thespecific specialist needs of our internal customers, twomembers of the procurement team have a BSc in QuantitySurveying, one member of the team is a member of theBritish Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), twomembers of the team have Business degrees, one has aLaw degree and one has a degree in Economics andSociology.

Our Team

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We participate in the Scottish Government’s ProfessionalDevelopment Working Group and will take account of thegroup’s outputs. The SE procurement team undertake annual procurementtraining to ensure that we are fully up to date with EUprocurement obligations, as well as the ScottishGovernment legislative and policy requirements. Inaddition, members of the team have undertakensustainability training, coaching skills and NEC3 training forworks contracts in 2019/20. In 2020-21 the procurementteam will again undergo CIPS online ethics training, furthersustainability training and anti-fraud training. All members of the team have, and will continue to have,annual training and development plans, and monthlyprogress meetings and end of year reviews with theirteam leader.

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Our procurement activity is regularly audited by SEInternal Audit both specifically and as part of wider auditreviews. The results of these audits are consistentlypositive, confirmed by the fact that no high priorityrecommendations have been raised in the previous fouryears. The Procurement team also undertakes quarterlyaudits of lower value procurement across theorganisation, and these audits consistently demonstrate ahigh compliance level. Where any issues are identified, theProcurement team follows up with relevant projectmanagers to ensure improvements are identified andimplemented. We have a Risk Management Policy and Procedure, withguidance for risk management available at project levelvia SE’s Project Lifecycle guidance. In relation toprocurement, a risk assessment is undertaken for eachregulated procurement project with risk managementallocated to relevant individuals. The Procurement teamwill continue to feed relevant risks into the divisional riskregister and, where required, these will be escalated to theSE corporate risk register in line with SE’s Risk Managementarrangements. We will continue to identify, manage and control risk bydeveloping policy and procedures that also consideroperational efficiency and effectiveness alongsidecompliance. The Procurement team consider riskproportionately in their activities – for example, ensuringthat financial thresholds and other short-listing criteria donot unreasonably discriminate against participation bySME’s.

Ensuring compliance

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To support our approach to risk management, anti-fraudtraining has been undertaken with the SE Procurementteam and key internal stakeholders. We have a namedprocurement anti-fraud champion and a procurementanti-fraud senior responsible owner. All SE staff are boundby SE’s code of conduct policy. Additionally, and in line withthe Bribery Act 2010, we include an anti-corruption andanti-bribery clause in our standard terms and conditions. SE has a Counter Fraud Policy which outlines how fraudmay occur and be identified, who is responsible forreporting fraudulent activity and who to report it to.Appropriate preventive mechanisms, including separationof duties, are in place to counter the risk of fraud. SE has a comprehensive whistle-blowing policy whichencourages employees to raise concerns about possibleimproprieties in the conduct of our business – whether inmatters of financial reporting or other malpractices – atthe earliest opportunity and in an appropriate way. In linewith good practice there is an internal contact and anexternal helpline which provides anonymity if necessary. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came in toforce in May 2018. We have reviewed current contracts inlight of the GDPR to ensure that these are compliant, andwe have updated our procurement procedures and termsand conditions to reflect data protection requirements. Foreach procurement, a data protection impact assessmentis completed, this ensures that requirements are capturedwithin the tender specification. Additionally, everyone in theorganisation has completed online GDPR training.

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In recognition of increasing Cyber risks, we will be furtherstrengthening our procedures in relation to businesscontinuity, disaster recovery and cyber security,incorporating these as evaluation criteria in our tenderswhere it is proportionate and relevant to do so.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the SE Procurement team will continue tocontribute to Scotland’s inclusive sustainable growth bydelivering an effective and efficient service to SE anddelivering value for money while compliantly encouragingcommunity wealth building, sustainability and reducingour carbon footprint contributing to Scotland’s response toclimate emergency. In line with the Procurement Reform Act, this ProcurementStrategy will be reviewed and updated annually with anyslippage in targets addressed. In 2020/21 we will bepublishing our updated Sustainable Procurement Strategywhich recognises our commitment to inclusive sustainablegrowth. An action plan has been produced to ensurecontinuous improvement. An annual procurement reportwill be developed to record and report progress and thiswill be published by July 2020. Phil MartinHead of Facilities Management, Procurement and Riskphilip.martin@scotent.co.uk

GLOSSARY

Term DescriptionCIPS Collaboration Contract Compliance Contract Management Framework Agreement OJEU Open Procedure Output Specification

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) isthe leading body representing the field of purchasing andsupply chain management. When two or more groups of people or organisationsengage in procurement work together for mutual benefit(CIPS). Items covered by a contract are procured from thecontracted supplier using the contract terms. The process of monitoring the performance of a supplier tocontract. An agreement or other arrangement between one or morecontracting authorities and one or more economicoperators which establishes the terms (in particular theterms as to price and, where appropriate, quantity) underwhich the economic operator will enter into one or morecontracts with a contracting authority in the period duringwhich the framework agreement applies. Official Journal of the European Union. A one-stage procedure whereby all suppliers are invited totender for the contract or framework agreement. Theorganisation cannot limit the number of bids it receives. The specification requirements set out in terms of what youwant to achieve, leaving the tenderers to decide on howthey will deliver those requirements. This can lead toinnovation by the tenderers. The services detailed in theoutput specification should be capable of objectiveassessment so that the performance of the supplier can beaccurately monitored.

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Term DescriptionProcurement Journey Procurement strategy Public Contracts Scotland Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Supplier Supported Business Value for Money Whole Life Costing

Revised public procurement toolkit with guidance andtemplates on the procurement process or Constructionmanual when appropriate. The Procurement Journey will beenhanced on an ongoing basis with feedback from usersand any other identified good practice guidance and toolswhere appropriate to ensure a standardised approach tothe supply base. Strategy for procurement within an organisation (can becalled policy). The national advertising portal used to advertise all ScottishGovernment goods, services or works contractopportunities. The category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) is made up of enterprises which employ fewer than250 persons and which have an annual turnover notexceeding 50 million euro and/or an annual balance sheettotal not exceeding 43 million euro. An entity who supplies goods or services; often usedsynonymously with "vendor". Either the organisation's main aim should be the social andprofessional integration of disabled or disadvantagedpersons, or the contract should be performed within asheltered employment programme. An economic assessment by the public sector as towhether a project represents value for money; theoptimum combination of cost and quality to provide therequired service. The costs of acquiring goods or services (includingconsultancy, design and construction costs, andequipment), the costs of operating it and the costs ofmaintaining it over its whole life through to its disposal –that is, the total ownership costs. These costs includeinternal resources and overheads. 33