Rising to the challenge

Scottish public procurement has made significant progress over the past year but there are still challenges ahead – that was the key message at this year’s Scottish Government National Public Procurement Conference and Exhibition, writes GO Features Editor Morven MacNeil.

Since publication of John McClelland’s Review of Public Procurement in Scotland in March 2006, the Scottish procurement landscape has been constantly changing. This has included the establishment of the Public Procurement Reform Programme and the Centres of Expertise. The fourth Scottish Government National Public Procurement Conference and Exhibition, held at the SECC, Glasgow on 29 October, was the ideal platform to showcase these initiatives and discuss the further development of public procurement in 2009.

Organised by the Scottish Government in partnership with BiP Solutions, the conference was held in conjunction with the first day of Procurex 2008 – Scotland’s first dedicated private and public sector procurement exhibition – with 600 delegates attending. The delegates, from across central and local government and other Scottish public sector bodies, gathered to hear speeches from John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth; Nick Bowd, Director of the Scottish Procurement Directorate; John McClelland, author of the Review of Public Procurement in Scotland; and Ian Howie, Head of Procurement Scotland, among others.

Keynote speaker Mr Swinney spoke about the achievements of the Public Procurement Reform Board, of which he is Chair, over the last year and set out the challenges that lie ahead. He also commented on how the conference had attracted a strong attendance, which showed how central procurement had become to the conduct of public sector business in Scotland. Other topics addressed included the launch of the Public Contracts Scotland national advertising portal, Procurement Scotland, the Single Point of Inquiry service, Best Practice Indicators, the Centres of Expertise and the progress of the sustainability agenda.

Mr Swinney referred to the current economic downturn, advising attendees: “We cannot insulate ourselves from the effects of global economic conditions but what we can do, and what we must do, is everything in our power to ensure that our spending of public money is focused on achieving the Government’s agenda of increasing sustainable economic growth for everyone in Scotland.

“Savings that have to be achieved must not be at the expense of standards of conduct or quality, and when we are taking decisions about procurement or any other form of expenditure, it is vital that we understand the implications of our actions for the Scottish economy.

“We have to acknowledge in these difficult economic times that there is an opportunity to use our procurement spend as cleverly and as effectively and with as much focus as we possibly can to ensure that we are making a positive contribution to the development of the Scottish economy.”

He also stressed that sustainability was a key issue for the future of Scottish public procurement: “We have to ensure that, as part of the procurement agenda, we are taking due and fair account of the importance of delivering sustainable procurement.

“Sustainable procurement lies at the heart of the reform agenda and goes hand in hand with our drive to deliver greater efficiency and ensure greater collaboration. I want Scotland to lead the way in Europe and in the international community – ensuring that the way we buy delivers value for money, value to society, value to the economy and value to the environment. We will shortly be publishing the Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan to help public bodies understand what sustainable procurement is and why it is important, and to give them essential guidance about how to achieve sustainable procurement.”

Speaking exclusively to GO after his speech, Mr Swinney was keen to reiterate the main points of his conference speech. When asked how the Scottish Government will monitor procurement spend to ensure value for money, he said: “We will maintain a close interest through the Centres of Expertise to ensure that value for money is being achieved. The pursuit of lowest price can turn out to be disastrous in some contracts, so we will be working to maintain the focus on the key themes addressed at the conference. We will work to support SMEs – that will lie at the heart of what we do in the Reform Board to guarantee that we have properly reflected all the elements in our procurement strategy.”

Ian Howie, Head of Procurement Scotland, stressed that improvements can still be made to achieve more effective procurement. He said: “A significant number of public bodies are now engaging proactively. Many, however, are still on the journey and the key lesson for Procurement Scotland is to develop our national approaches accordingly, while continuing to help bodies, both public and private, through the change process itself.

“Overall, I believe that much progress has been made. Secured savings from our work now total almost £30 million over the three-year spending review period, with more to come as our activity continues to expand. There are a number of challenges we are continuing to address.”

Mr Howie also emphasised to delegates the importance of collaboration: “With a positive approach to what is possible, and recognising that some compromises need to be made along the way, I believe that real benefits (cashable and non-cashable) can be delivered for public bodies, but the key to that is proactive collaboration. That means bringing not just needs and aspirations to the table, but expertise and potential solutions too.

“Embedding collaboration in what we do in Scotland can deliver a number of wider benefits. For example, collaboration is now recognised as a key enabler of innovation, itself a key driver of successful organisations and value for money outcomes. The Reform Programme should therefore be an ideal breeding ground for more continuous innovation, certainly within the public sector but also increasingly in terms of what the procurement process can do to help drive innovation in business.”

John McClelland said he was personally delighted with the progress that has been made in public procurement in Scotland, but highlighted some issues that still need to be addressed. On the issue of accountability, Mr McClelland said that in the public sector accountability is much more formal; individuals are designated ‘accountable officer’ and too often that can lead to the belief that that person is the only individual accountable. “Sometimes in the public sector we could spend more time in making sure that accountability is implemented in the same way as leadership is deployed throughout the organisation,” he said.

Mr McClelland stressed to delegates that maverick buying was something that should not be tolerated. He added: “Maverick buying – where organisations do not have control of their own procurement because unofficial buying is taking place – can detract from the progress that has been made. It will be very difficult for the public sector to save locally and even more difficult for them to contribute to programmes.

“I would say that today in Scotland, we are weak in some areas but very strong in others. Those we are weak in are being addressed and those that need more attention will receive that attention in the very near future. Everyone involved should feel proud of the progress that has been made.”

The Scottish Government National Public Procurement Conference and Exhibition 2008 provided delegates key examples of how Scottish public procurement has developed rapidly over the last year and set the benchmark for future progress. It will be interesting to see the further strides that public procurement makes in Scotland in 2009, as well as the next set of challenging targets set by the Scottish Government.

PANEL
Full speaker list:
Donald Biggar, Quality Meat Scotland
Nick Bowd, Director, Scottish Procurement Directorate
Dorothy Cowie, Director, Scotland Excel
Helen Foster, Procurement Development Specialist, APUC
James Fothergill, Head of Public Services Policy, CBI
Dick Gill, Portfolio Manager, Audit Scotland
Ian Howie, Head of Procurement Scotland
Gordon Masterton, Vice President, Environment Business Unit, Jacobs
John McClelland, Author of the Review of Public Procurement in Scotland
Angela McKay, Head of Collaborative Procurement, CGCoPE
Steve Murray, Head of eCommerce, eProcurement Scotl@nd
Spencer Nadin, Management Information Manager, APUC
Lynn Peterson, Head of eProcurement, APUC
Professor John Seddon, Vanguard
Colin Sinclair, Logistics Director, NHS Scotland
John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth
Brian Taylor, Political Editor, BBC Scotland
Lawrie Wilcox, Delivery and Customer Relationship Manager, eProcurement Scotl@nd

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INTRODUCTION | AGENDA | EXHIBITION | VENUE | BOOKING