On 19 January, the Scottish Government published the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016. The Regulations will come into force on 18 April and make further provision for regulated (below EU threshold) contracts under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
The Regulations mirror much of the EU regime. They set out how to calculate the estimated value for regulated contracts, and the circumstances in which such a contract can be awarded by a contracting authority without seeking offers under a procurement. They also set out how the Act applies to dynamic purchasing systems, and what constitutes a health or social care service for procurements under the Regulations. There are also some specific provisions about publication of contract notices and contract award notices.
Importantly, the Regulations require a contracting authority to exclude an economic operator from a regulated procurement on certain grounds of criminal activity, as well as in cases of blacklisting. They also provide for the selection of economic operators and the use of technical specifications in relation to regulated procurements.
The publication of these latest Regulations follows closely behind the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, which were laid before the Scottish Parliament last month. They establish a procurement regime for regulated contracts and are set to be a new feature on the Scottish procurement landscape.
Disclaimer
The material contained in this article is of the nature of general comment only and does not give advice on any particular matter. Recipients should not act on the basis of the information in this e-update without taking appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.
