The Procurement Reform Scotland Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 3 October 2013. Once it becomes law, the Act will exist alongside the current procurement regulations, but will make some fundamental changes in the way public contracts are procured in Scotland.

Some of the main changes are:

• Increased regulation - supplies/services contracts with a value of £50,000 or more and works contracts with a value of £2,000,000 or more which are currently not covered by the procurement regulations are subject to the Bill;

What do you know about procurement regulations and time barred challenges? The case of Nationwide Gritting Services Limited (NGS) against the Scottish Ministers sheds some light on the challenge timescales under procurement regulations, but unfortunately does little to provide comfort to contracting authorities embarking on procurement exercises.

The 2006 regulations outlined that court proceedings for a breach of those regulations must be brought within 3 months from the date when grounds for bringing proceedings first arose. Under the new 2012 regulations, this is now 30

The Scottish Government is still working on its proposed Procurement Reform Bill and recently issued an update on progress. Does this mean all change for public procurement in Scotland? It was hoped that the draft Bill would be introduced to Parliament in advance of the summer recess 2013. However, the Government has confirmed that the introduction of the Bill has now been postponed until after the summer recess.

This is primarily due to the new EU draft Procurement Directive, which is currently working its way

If you are considering challenging the procurement process are you aware that the courts will consider the public interest. The procurement regulations provide that,

where a legal challenge based on a breach of the procurement regulations has been raised following the completion of a tender process, the public body procuring the contract is prohibited from entering into the contract with the successful bidder until the legal proceedings are resolved, or the court grants an interim order lifting this prohibition.

In the case of Hastings

Using Procurement to deliver Living Wage - public bodies are increasingly under pressure to get the most out of their procurement processes, including addressing social and economic challenges.

The Scottish Living Wage Campaign aims to ensure that all employers in the public, private and voluntary sectors pay their workers no less than the Scottish Living Wage.

• The living wage is higher than the national minimum wage,
• It is set at a level that the Campaign considers to be the minimum income that households need to

How do you comply with the new public procurement regulations? The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012 came into force in May 2012, replacing the 2006 procurement regulations.

The new regulations consolidate the 2006 public procurement regulations and subsequent amending regulations into one document, as well as incorporating some important changes.

What are the main changes?

• Time limits for raising an action: Aggrieved tenderers must now raise a court action against a public body carrying out a procurement exercise within thirty days of the date on

So when can I exclude a bidder? According to regulation 23 of the procurement regulations, a public body (including an RSL) carrying out a procurement exercise shall treat as ineligible and disqualify a bidder, if it has actual knowledge that the bidder, its directors (if the bidder is a company) or any other person with powers of representation, decision or control of the bidder has been convicted of certain offences, including:

• Conspiracy
• Corruption
• Bribery
• Incitement to commit a crime
• Fraud
• Taxation offences
• Money laundering
• Attempting

Under the procurement regulations, an organisation engaged in a procurement exercise should allow a 'standstill period' of 10 days to elapse between notifying the tenderers of the successful party and awarding the contract. If an unsuccessful tenderer raises a legal challenge to the procurement process during the standstill period, the organisation cannot proceed to award the contract without first obtaining an order from the court.

In a recent case from Northern Ireland (Rutledge Recruitment and Training Limited v Department for Employment and Learning)