Scottish Procurement Policy Handbook - Competition
Effective Competition
It is SPCB policy that goods, services and works are obtained through genuine and effective competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary (see Non Competitive Action below). The purchaser is responsible for identifying the most appropriate procurement process that is likely to offer the best value for money (VfM). New competitions should normally only be undertaken where the requirement cannot be met through an existing contract or framework agreement that SPCB purchasers can access.
It is SPCB policy that purchasers use the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) national advertising portal and that all contracts with an anticipated value in excess of £50,000 (excluding VAT) are advertised on the PCS. Decisions not to use PCS and/or not to advertise a contract over £50,000 should be objectively based and clearly documented in the contract file.
The purchaser must carry out a quotation exercise or QuickQuote process within PCS for all requirements with an anticipated value of between £5,000 and £50,000 (excluding VAT).
Formal tendering procedures must be used for all procurements with an anticipated value of more than £50000 (excluding VAT).
Requirements below £5000 (excluding VAT) do not require formal competition or Purchasing Authority. However, it remains the purchaser’s responsibility to ensure that the purchase represents overall value for money and offers fair and equitable treatment to suppliers. Therefore, two verbal quotes or electronic comparisons should be obtained and recorded for purchases between £2k and £5k.
Non Competitive Action (NCA)
An NCA may only be granted in exceptional circumstances and is strictly limited to situations where competition is not deemed appropriate. It is SPCB policy that all requests to proceed with an NCA receive written approval from the Head of Procurement prior to commencement of any other action.
Examples of exceptional circumstances where NCA may be justified include:
- For work of exceptional urgency caused by unforeseeable circumstances where competitive tendering would cause unacceptable delay (e.g. after critical equipment breakdown, storm, fire, etc.). Insufficient organisational planning (e.g. requirement to spend funds within a particular financial year) cannot be considered as acceptable justification. Note: where the total contract value exceeds the current EU procurement threshold, details of this process will be included in the return issued by the SPCB to the EU Commission.
- The proposed supplier has, by recent experience (normally, within the last 12 months, but this will depend on relevant market conditions), proved to offer best value for money as the result of a fully compliant, competitive procurement exercise. Further competition would be highly likely to produce the same outcome. However, EU procurement rules must be taken into account, dependent on the value of the additional requirement.
- The proposed supplier is the only one known to provide the goods and/or services required (adequate research must have been carried out to demonstrate that this is the case) and there are no satisfactory alternatives. Note: where the total contract value exceeds the current EU procurement threshold, details of this process will be included in the return issued by the SPCB to the EU Commission.
- Where Intellectual Property Rights are an issue, e.g. bespoke designs and some research programmes. However, it is essential that procedures are in place to ensure value for money.