Chamber and committees

I will ask Nikki Archer to come in on the specifics. You raise an important point. As has been suggested previously, I highlight the importance of the requirements being proportionate. We have already had an exchange on the pressures and the resource challenges that we are currently facing.

I will ask Graeme Cook to come in on the point around implementation in subcontracting and then I will come back in.

Again, it gets to the tensions that exist in procurement, which we spoke about earlier, and what we want procurement to do. In recent decades, we have come a long way with how procurement operates. In the past 10 years, we have seen real progress, partly in relation to what has been delivered by the act and partly through the broader work around procurement reform that the Scottish Government has been undertaking. I understand and share the appetite for seeing what more procurement can do—we touched on that with regard to community wealth building—but it always come back to the point about proportionality.

We are talking about the delivery of goods, services and works, which are essential for the functioning and operation of the public sector, but we want to do that in such a way that we can maximise the wider impacts. If we look at the report on 20 years of the sustainable procurement journey, we can see that those considerations went from being an add-on to being a golden thread that goes right through the process.

That speaks more broadly to the aspirations that we talk about for community wealth building, sustainable economic growth, sustainable development and a wellbeing economy—however one wishes to phrase it. That broader consideration of the social, environmental and specific economic outcomes has been a much more upstream concern. We are seeing that change happen in procurement.

It also speaks to the broader point about implementation. You will have heard from a number of witnesses who have appeared before the committee that we have policy and we have legislation, but culture and practice are important as well. That will take time but, 10 years on from the act being passed, we can see that we have made significant progress. That is reflected in the annual reports, as well as in the independent review of the progress that we have made over the past couple of decades.

I agree entirely. I visited a supported business yesterday, and I am visiting another one next week. Last autumn, Scotland Excel ran an excellent event on supported businesses, which I was privileged to attend and speak at.

The committee will be aware of what is set out in the legislation. I ask Graeme Cook to say a few words on some of the work that we are undertaking on dynamic purchasing.

I will ask Nikki Archer to contribute in a moment but, regarding the requirements for the strategies, I highlight the need to set out how bodies are engaging with their areas and the considerations that go into those strategies.

Your point is something that I will take away from this exchange. In the community wealth building consultation, one of the central questions concerned duties to be placed on public bodies to advance community wealth building. We are giving detailed consideration to that, and we are reflecting on the responses to the consultation, but I will certainly take away the point that you have raised about decision making being more informed by the considerations of those on the front line and in the community, leading to better outcomes, when thinking about how we take forward the propositions that we consulted on regarding community wealth building.

I would be happy to write with a summary of the engagement activity that my officials and I have been undertaking with contracting authorities, in time for the committee to consider that in its report, if that would be helpful.

I think that balance and proportionality are becoming the go-to words of this session. They are specific requirements that have to be met, both in the strategies and in the reporting.

Of course, there is nothing to preclude a public body from going beyond those requirements, and there is nothing to preclude a public body whose annual expenditure is below £5 million from also producing strategies and reports. It is important to have that flexibility to reflect the fact that different public bodies will have different focuses with regard to procurement. Of course, there are requirements that most public bodies will need to address through procurement, but there will also be things that are more sector specific.

This builds on Mr Doris’s line of questioning, and I am conscious that Nikki Archer’s answers highlighted the need for a proportionate approach. We want to support, encourage and enable businesses to go on that journey. If we have a set of requirements that small operators in particular do not have the capacity to comply with, we will be missing an opportunity to take them on that journey.

Nikki Archer might want to provide additional feedback on what emerged from the cumulative annual reports, as reflected in the ministerial report.

You raise a number of important points, Mr Whittle. I am glad that you took the opportunity to highlight East Ayrshire, which has been an inspiring example. A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of visiting Mossgiel farm, which has benefited directly from the opportunity to work in partnership with East Ayrshire Council. East Ayrshire sits within the broader regional approach to community wealth building that I referred to earlier.

What we have already provided for, in legislation and in practice, is support for the objectives that you have set out. That includes opportunities for lotting. For example, we have seen flexibilities around supply for organisations that do not necessarily possess the logistical capacity to deliver. The committee will have heard about that previously. Contracting authorities that are obliged to publish a strategy and to report on it are required to have a specific statement on their regulated procurement of food. Therefore, there is a strong foundation in that regard.

As we look towards the community wealth building legislation and the further foregrounding of those principles, there will be an opportunity to reiterate and reinforce the importance of dealing with the concern that you have expressed and operating within the structures and the framework of procurement law to identify opportunities to use local suppliers.

I recognise the desire to go faster. We have made solid progress and we have a strong legislative foundation. The example of East Ayrshire demonstrates what is possible, and there will be an opportunity to give that further consideration as we move forward with our community wealth building ambitions.

From the evidence that the committee has taken from Scotland Excel, I know how committed it is to engaging with suppliers and taking a proactive approach. It does a huge amount of work in that space. The need to consider matters on a case-by-case basis is fundamental to procurement, which must be relevant to the particular circumstances and proportionate. The legislative framework that we provide affords that.

I am keen that we continue to take a more co-ordinated approach through the work and actions that we are undertaking on community wealth building in order to support more suppliers to grow and develop, to be able to compete for and win contracts, and to increase the number of suppliers that are available. Graham Cook might want to say something about implementation.