Question reference: S6W-01948
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 29 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued to public bodies regarding the permissibility of specifying community benefits that will be expected to be delivered as part of the terms of fulfilling public procurement contracts or agreements.
Answer
Community benefits are increasingly included in public procurement contracts. As a result, thousands of employment and training opportunities have been achieved, contributing to national and local outcomes and achieving a positive social impact.
In 2016, the Scottish Government issued Statutory Guidance under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, setting out how public bodies can include community benefits in relevant public procurements. In 2020, we published guidance for public bodies on ‘ Measuring social impact in public procurement (SPPN 10/2020) ’. This includes a focus on the use of community benefits and examples of how public procurement has been used to deliver social impact in communities.
Our sustainable procurement tools include additional guidance on employment, skills and training through public contracts.