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Annual Procurement Report 2024 - (1.8 MB)Introduction
Registers of Scotland (RoS) is pleased to publish our seventh Annual Procurement Report. This report's content covers all regulated procurements completed from 1st April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
Key benefits in the delivery of the Procurement Strategy are:
- Updating process and procedures to comply with the new procurement rules and regulations.
- Increasing time spent on strategic aspects of procurement activities.
- Supporting savings when appropriate to do so.
- Embedding RoS’ community benefits approach into all relevant and proportionate contracts delivering a greater volume and increased variety of better outcomes across a wider range of commodities.
- Transitioning to the Scottish Government Procurement Journey which standardised and aligned our processes and procedures and reduced risk and duplication.
- Ensuring Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are provided targeted opportunities as standard within our Quick Quote process.
RoS was assessed as part of the national Procurement and Commercial Improvement Programme (PCIP) on June 3rd and 4th in 2024.
Procurement Model
RoS follows the Scottish Procurement Model (Fig.1) which sets the principals of:
- Embedding sustainability in all we do.
- Improving supplier access to public contracts.
- Maximising efficiency and collaboration.
- Delivering savings and benefits.
At RoS, we ensure compliance with this model throughout our work and there is clear alignment of our practices to the stages of the Procurement Journey.
Fig.1 – Scottish Government’s Procurement Model
RoS Procurement in Numbers
* This saving is calculated by Scottish Government on behalf of Registers of Scotland. It represents the savings achieved using Scottish Government collaborative frameworks.
**We have 2 programs for GPC spend covering the individual cards and an embedded card for buying office supplies.
Community Benefits
The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires Community Benefits to be considered for all procurement processes for relevant contracts at or above £4 million in value. As an organisation, we have decided to consider Community Benefits for all procurement at or greater than £1 million in value. During the period there were four contracts awarded that contained Community Benefits.
The table above only shows instances where we have been able to ask bidders directly in connection with Community Benefits and Fair Work First for contract over £1M.
A significant proportion of our spend is through National Frameworks by Scottish Government and the Crown Commercial Service where these questions have already been asked.
RoS Regulated Procurement during 2023 / 24
The procurement team collaborates closely with internal customers to develop new requirements and the renewal of existing contracts. During the 2023 / 24 period RoS completed 487 procurement exercises.
RoS has a commitment to use Scottish Government and Crown Commercial Services Frameworks where possible.
Below is a summary of this procurement activity.
- 318 Regulated Procurement
- 169 Regulated Exercises (Non-OJEU: this refers to public sector tenders that are below a certain
financial threshold and are therefore not required to be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union)
Procurement Commercial Improvement Programme (PCIP)
Our procurement team completed the PCIP Medium Pulse Check assessment. The Medium Assessment set reviewed eleven mandated procurement questions. Each question was assessed as achieving one of three levels. i.e. Developing Area, Improving Area, Good Practice Area.
Procurement achieved a level of ‘good practice area’ in all eleven mandated questions which is the highest level that can be achieved in a medium assessment.
While not included as part of the assessment, it was noted that some of the evidence met the advanced practice level for full assessments.
Fair Work Practices
RoS has embedded Fair Work First principles (Fig.2) as an employer. We are committed to the delivery of high-quality public services and recognise that this is critically dependent on a workforce that is well- motivated, well led, has appropriate opportunities for training and skills development and is also engaged in decision making at all levels across the organisation. These factors are also important for workforce recruitment and retention, and continuity of service.
To ensure the highest standards of service quality in the contracts we procure, we expect suppliers to evidence a positive approach to fair work practices. This approach applies as part of fair and equitable employment as well as the reward package for all employees involved in the delivery of any RoS contract.
Where proportionate and relevant we evaluate tender responses on the following Fair Work First
criteria:
- A fair pay and equal pay policy that includes a commitment to supporting the real Living Wage, including, for example, being a Living Wage Accredited Employer
- Investment in workforce development including a strong commitment to Modern Apprenticeships
- No inappropriate use of zero hours contracts
- Flexible working (flexitime and career breaks) and support for family friendly working and wide work life balance
- Appropriate channels for effective voice and employee engagement, including trade union recognition.
- Take action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, which reflects the population of Scotland in terms of age, gender, race, and disability.
Fig.2 Fair Work Principles
Modern Slavery
In 2022/23 RoS published its Modern Slavery Statement. This details the measures that RoS is taking to ensure that no modern slavery or human trafficking is occurring in our organisation or our supply chains.
Read our Modern Slavery Statement.
Supplier Development Programme
RoS continues to be a member of the Supplier Development Programme (SDP). The SDP assists businesses to become tender ready for public procurement and improves all-round efficiency, sustainability, and market potential.
RoS attended this year’s ‘Meet the Buyer’ event held at Hampden Park, Scotland. Approximately 3200 suppliers attended. Our procurement team will continue to support these events in 2024 / 25.
Prompt Payment
RoS ensures (where appropriate) contracts are awarded to bidders who have a good payment performance history and have systems in place so that their full supply chain is paid on time and in accordance with the terms of the contract.
Prompt payment is a priority when seeking to act in a responsible and sustainable manner. We are committed to paying suppliers and understand the importance of prompt payment to ensure that suppliers do not have cash flow difficulties.
Our on-time payment performance is 96% of payments made in fewer than 10 days and 99% within 30 days.
Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
During this period, we have worked with many suppliers.
During 2023 / 24, RoS' actual spend increased from £16M to 17.6M. This is an increase of approximately £1.6M.
Supported Businesses
We engage with supported businesses and will continue to seek future opportunities to use them.
When we have a procurement requirement RoS uses the Supported Businesses Framework for Furniture and Signage as well as IT Waste Disposal.
Circular Economy
Ongoing partnerships with Kinross Wooden Products Company and Restore Technology helped us to support the circular economy by managing surplus furniture and end-of-life IT equipment with minimal environmental impacts.
Via a youth enterprise programme providing job seekers and disadvantaged young people with new skills and opportunities, furniture from Meadowbank House was remanufactured and supplied back into the general marketplace. This offered an alternative to items made with virgin materials, with various charitable and community organisations benefiting from the products.
During 2023 / 24, 2,602 kg of IT equipment and 10,391 kg of office furniture were re-used, refurbished, or recycled. We also commenced three new contracts which included sustainability requirements, namely Catering, Cleaning and Security; these achievements were supported by close collaboration between Procurement, relevant Contract Managers, and the Sustainability Team.
In addition, we worked with a key existing contractor to agree arrangements for measuring and reducing emissions associated with service delivery; we intend to learn from this experience and to extend this approach across other contracts to deliver on our commitment to introduce emissions related to procured goods and services to our carbon footprint calculations.
Procurement colleagues also undertook the Climate & Procurement Forum's 'Climate Literacy eLearning for Procurers' during 2023 / 24.
Responsible and Sustainable Procurement
The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 includes a sustainable procurement duty on public sector bodies which requires them to:
- conduct their procurement in a way that will secure economic, social, and environmental wellbeing; and
- consider the use of community benefits in major contracts.
As noted above, RoS continues to promote the use of community benefits within procurement exercises where relevant and proportionate to the contract. All contracts appointed in this period also support the Living Wage.
Case Study – Sustainable Procurement
RoS and Baxter Storey Limited (our catering provider for Meadowbank House) delivering Sustainability Objectives.
Summary
Achieving carbon neutrality requires the effective implementation of meaningful carbon reduction strategies that aligns with RoS’ sustainability objectives:
Focus Areas
- Recycling and waste management practices
- Energy and water use
- Packaging and disposables
- Equipment
- Food and Product
Some specific examples have been detailed below.
- Implementation of reusable and keep cups
- Using local coffee roaster Modern Standard - A 1% Planet Company
- Twist Teas – using biodegradable teabags
- Waste Knot – reducing surplus fruit and veg going to landfill
- Using only cans and glass bottles on site
On a monthly basis Baxter Storey can offer reporting on
- Food Waste
- Food Miles
- Use of local suppliers
- Uptake on keep cups used
- Value of ‘Waste Knot’ boxes used
On a quarterly basis Baxter Storey can offer reporting on
- Savings made in disposable usage
- Utilities and energy saving if the metering is separated within catering areas
- Use of and switch to bio-degradable chemicals for cleaning
- Reduction of single use plastics
On an annual basis Baxter Storey can offer reporting on
1. Green House Gas emissions reduction
2. Progress with sustainability targets against baseline assessment
Macmillan Cancer Support
We supported a Macmillan coffee morning on 25th September 2024 in partnership with RoS colleagues and suppliers. This included, Baxter Storey Limited, Complete Cleaning, and Amulet Security.
Fundraising for Macmillan supports the charity to help with the things that matter the most to people affected by cancer. More information is available on the Macmillan website.
Climate Change
In September 2021 RoS published a 5-year Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy which sets out our vision on how we aim to reach net zero by 2045. We aim to reduce our carbon footprint by 11% annually.
The areas which we will focus on to achieve this include:
- Energy use and water management
- Waste and circular economy
- Digital innovations
- Sustainable travel and staff commuting
- Sustainable procurement
- Biodiversity
- Green recovery: hybrid working
In line with our commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2045, a Winter Heating Strategy was introduced in early 2023 to lessen heating demand at Meadowbank House during the colder months.
This meant the temperature of occupied wings was reduced by 2 degrees, and some wings were closed with their temperature being reduced further.
Early figures indicate that this has been a success - gas usage figures from the first full month (February), show a 40% reduction in relation to average February usage in the previous three years.
Through our Procurement activity we will:
- Drive environmental performance reporting
- Improve efficient use of resources
- Continued integration of sustainability criteria into contracting and incorporating monitoring
where possible in line with relevant specifications
Climate Week 2024
We supported Scotland's Climate Week which ran from 23rd - 29th September in partnership with Baxter Storey Limited. Sustainability commitments are built into our contract with Baxter Storey. In partnership with them, we are offering a locally sourced, vegan lunch to celebrate our commitment to reducing CO2 emissions across our business.
Savings
Using the Scottish Government’s 'Procurement Benefits Reporting Guidance' methodology, RoS procurement achieved £965,000 of cash savings for the period, an 8.5% saving on the annual expenditure. This has been achieved by identification of available frameworks and further competitions.
Learning and Team Development
RoS use the Scottish Governments Public Sector Procurement Competency Framework to aid professional development within the procurement team.
Professional development for the team also continues through the Chartered Institute for Purchase and Supply.
The team also undertook internal and external training to further their knowledge and expertise.
The courses included:
- Chartered Procurement of Purchasing and Supply- Levels 4, 5 & 6
- CIPS Ethical Procurement 2024
- Sustainability Training
- Understanding Frameworks
- Introduction to ICT Procurement; and
- Climate Literacy eLearning for Procurers.