SmartGov: Scotland to launch new tenders database

The Scottish Government's procurement director has said that the country is launching a single database of pre-qualification information for customers and suppliers

GC News
Kable, Wednesday 16 June 2010 13.08 BST

Alastair Merrill told delegates at the SmartGov Live exhibition and conference that the new database will simplify the bidding process and lower barriers for small businesses bidding for Scottish public sector business. It is due to go live later in 2010.

He said that a working group of business representatives from across Scotland had been established. Simplifying and standardising procurement is among the areas it had identified as key to removing barriers to bidding.

"Improving access to SMEs is one of our key priorities," Merrill told the event on 15 June 2010. "We have introduced new contract conditions requiring 30 day payment throughout the contracting chain and we are encouraging the rest of the public sector to do this."

Scotland's government is also introducing a "quick quote" facility within its e-commerce portal, Public Contract Scotland, which will allow procurements not using the Official Journal of the European Union (Ojeu) to be carried out with "a minimum of bureaucracy and fuss".

Merrill said that more than 45,000 suppliers and more than 500 contracting authorities are registered on Public Contracts Scotland. The country is encouraging supplier collaboration, he added, by helping to build consortia of SMEs to bid for major contracts. It is also working on enabling greater availability of sub-contracting opportunities and tender lists.

He said that Scotland had decided to advertise contracts worth more than £50,000 because feedback from suppliers indicated that advertising business below that value added to their work. Merrill said it will be interesting to see how the Office of Government Commerce £25,000 threshold works.