ɬÂþÌìÌÃ

ɬÂþÌìÌà strongly believes in conducting its procurements in an open and inclusive manner with procurement objectives aligned to the University’s Strategic Plan.

The details of regulated procurements completed are set out in a list at the end of this report with details summarised in Appendix A. That information, coupled with the publication of the institutional  and the systematic use of Public Contracts Scotland and Quick Quotes, provides complete visibility of the University’s procurement activity over the reporting period.

In Appendix A, information is set out to show lower value regulated procurements completed and EU regulated procurements completed. These are separated into contract categories and distinguish collaborative contracts from institutional ones. For each completed regulated procurement the information provided shows:

• the date of award
• the start dates
• the category subject matter
• the name of the supplier
• estimated value of the contract – total over contract period
• collaborative or institution owned
• the end date provided for in the contract or a description of the circumstances in which the contract will end.
• SME / supported business?

Where appropriate, ɬÂþÌìÌà has made use of collaborative contracts to deliver improved contract terms, supported contract and supplier management, sustainable procurement outcomes and value for money (the best balance of cost, quality and sustainability).

In making its regulated procurements every care has been taken to ensure that the University awards the business to suppliers who are capable, reliable and who can demonstrate that they meet high ethical standards and values in the conduct of their business.

In the period covered by this report the University has conducted all its regulated procurements in compliance with EU Treaty Principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination, transparency, proportionality and mutual recognition.

Successful delivery against the procurement strategy objectives is part of a customer valued, continual improvement process (CIP) that seeks incremental improvements to process and outcomes over time.

The PCIP assessment was conducted in April 2022 by APUC, and the institutional score fell into the Silver band. The intention now is to improve upon this score and maintain the Silver band rating or move into the Gold band in time for the next assessment.

ɬÂþÌìÌà has procurement process and sign off arrangements that are consistent with the guidelines set out in the Procurement Journey and that have met the objectives and obligations set out immediately above.

For every procurement over £4m, ɬÂþÌìÌà will consider how it can improve the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of its area through inclusion of community benefit clauses, to assist with achieving sustainability in contracts activity, including targeted recruitment and training, small business and social enterprise development and community engagement. Where possible, relevant and proportionate, and where they are considered not to have a negative impact on the delivery of value for money, such clauses may be included in regulated procurements valued at below £4m.

The general University policy on identifying community benefit requirements is to conduct risk and opportunities assessments through stakeholder consultation and engagement – on a case- by-case basis the question is asked, ‘could a community benefit clause be usefully included’? Where relevant and proportionate to the subject matter of the procurement, the requirement is then built into the procurement specification and into the eventual conditions of contract performance.

Where applicable, as part of the tendering process, suppliers are invited to describe their approach to delivering community benefits or achieving social value through a contract. Relevant community benefits are cited, such as:

• providing ‘upskilling’ opportunities (e.g. Toolbox talks) with students and staff,
• offering advice and assistance on the best practice methodology,
• employment, student work experience and vocational training opportunities,
• apprenticeships,
• local subcontractor opportunities available to SMEs, 3rd sector and supported businesses,
• direct involvement in community-based schemes or programmes,
• equality and diversity initiatives,
• supply-chain development activity,
• educational support initiatives,
• to minimise negative environmental impacts, for example impacts associated with vehicle movements and/or associated emissions and impacts on protected areas, buildings or sites.

Tenderers are invited to describe how such benefits will be delivered through the contract and promoted to contract users. Where community benefits are included in a procurement (at or above the £4 million threshold), the award notice would include a statement of the benefits that are expected to be derived from the contract.

ɬÂþÌìÌà has awarded 6 regulated procurement contracts over the reporting period. For this current period, none of these was over £4 million in value.

Higher value procurements, regulated procurements (between £50k and OJEU threshold and those equal to and above the OJEU thresholds) are conducted in line with Routes 2 and 3 respectively of the Procurement Journey. Both Routes 2 and 3 mandate the use of the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD (Scotland)). The ESPD covers exclusion, selection and award criteria and includes questions relating to companies self-certifying themselves in terms of size (micro, small or medium), or whether they are supported businesses.

The institution reviews each procurement to determine whether it could be fulfilled by a Supported Business, whilst remaining compliant with EU and Scottish Procurement Legislation and ensuring value for money for the institution (using the only Supported Business register currently available and published by Ready for Business).

The University aims to increase its contract uptake through the Supported Business framework agreement. In tandem, the University will research opportunities for awarding contracts to third sector bodies including social enterprises.

ɬÂþÌìÌà is keen to encourage competition by promoting optimal participation in its procurement process and achieve better value for money in its procurements. One method of achieving this is to give notice to suppliers of tendering opportunities that are expected to commence over the next two financial years after the period covered by this report.

In preparing this forward projection of anticipated regulated procurements, it is difficult to be precise about providing details of actual requirements. Over a forecast period of two years it is very probable that circumstances and priorities will change so the list of projected individual regulated procurement exercises outlined in Appendix D should be viewed with this caveat in mind.

The information provided in Appendix D - list of Future Regulated Procurements covers:

• the subject matter of the anticipated regulated procurement
• whether it is a new, extended or re-let procurement
• the expected contract notice publication date
• expected award date
• expected start and end date
• the estimated value of the contract.
• contract category: call off from framework, C – local contract or C1 – local collaboration

The University is working with its service providers for catering and integrated facilities management to gather evidence of progress towards community benefits and fair work practices. Both suppliers are engaged in this process and are using guidance and tools provided by the Scottish Government to monitor progress in these areas.

The University has recently started to use and global business sustainability ratings as part of its contract management process. The University is working with APUC to prioritise suppliers in terms of contract value and risk in order to determine which tool should be employed. The University will assess suppliers via the lighter touch SCM tool or the more in-depth and externally assessed Ecovadis tool depending on the results.