Seòmar agus comataidhean

Would you like to comment specifically on the work that has been undertaken to date, Stephen?

One of the themes that has emerged from the evidence that the committee has taken is that the 2014 act is a good piece of legislation that was formulated on a largely consensual basis when it went through Parliament 10 years ago. There is also recognition that the act sits within a much larger programme of public procurement reform, preceding its introduction and since then.

One of the challenges that remains is around consistency of application, the variation that can exist between different contracting authorities and the perceptions that that can create among suppliers. We have sought to address that through providing a comprehensive suite of guidance, support, training and engagement. For example, on the Public Contracts Scotland website, you will find links to the procurement journey, the supplier journey, and the supplier development programme, to which we contribute funding.

We also keep a suite of guidance up to date, and we are always working to engage with stakeholders on the development of our policy. We recognise that there will always be challenges around the consistency of application, but the legislation provides a solid foundation, and we remain committed to continuing to engage with partners to ensure that we drive forward consistency.

The five pilots have been in place for a number of years. They are operating in different contexts in Clackmannanshire, Fife, South of Scotland, Glasgow and the Western Isles. We have seen real progress, and there has been good engagement with the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, which has produced reports on the activities that are taking place in the pilot areas. The committee is familiar with the positive feedback that has been received on increasing the impact of local procurement in some of those pilot areas.

There is not just the five pilot areas to consider. Other areas of Scotland have taken forward community wealth building ambitions. No conversation about community wealth building would be complete without referring to North Ayrshire Council, which was the pioneer in taking forward community wealth building in Scotland. We have seen North Ayrshire’s approach grow to a regional approach, bringing in East Ayrshire Council, South Ayrshire Council, the local health board, the third sector interface and the college. Further progress has been made on the ambitions that are set out in the 2014 act around sustainable and progressive procurement.

Community wealth building legislation is a programme for government commitment. We consulted on the legislation and published an analysis of it last year. We are considering in detail the next steps with regards to the feedback that we received via the consultation.

As the committee will be aware, procurement is just one of the pillars of community wealth building, albeit that it is an incredibly important one. Community wealth building can add value by bringing about strategic coherence across the five pillars, which is one of the reasons why we committed to legislation in the PFG. I could say a huge amount about community wealth building, but I appreciate that that might be straying beyond the specifics of what we are considering this morning.

I respect the autonomy of local authorities in taking the decisions that they feel are best for their areas. They have to operate within the requirements of domestic procurement law.

I will pick up on the point that Graeme Cook made and the point about East Ayrshire that you made, Mr Whittle, and which we discussed. There is always power in an example. We can talk theory, but the examples that other local authorities can provide and sharing examples of best practice can serve to demonstrate what the opportunities are to those local authorities where practice might be inconsistent.

However, I have to respect that it is for individual local authorities to take those decisions. They must operate in a way that is consistent with the requirements of the legislation but, ultimately, decisions must be taken by elected members who are democratically accountable to their electorates.

I would be speaking beyond my portfolio responsibilities if I strayed into the territory of food regulation and its specifics. There will be sound reasons for those particular standards.

What is important from a procurement perspective is that we continue to develop a system that is not only open and transparent but that allows opportunities for continued engagement with suppliers. We look at the other broader levers that we have to support suppliers in meeting the requirements and demands of public sector procurers.

We look forward to the proposed community wealth building legislation, on which we have engaged closely with the FSB, increasing opportunities for local suppliers and SMEs. That will be crucial to the success of our approach.

There is a fundamental point about knowing what need the procurement is seeking to address. With regard to commissioning, we must ensure through pre-market engagement with suppliers that they have a clear understanding of the need and demand that is to be met. On the point about the officers who are involved in the administrative process of drafting and decision making, that will be for the individual contracting bodies, but they must comply with the legislative requirements. They have to be in a position to demonstrate how they are doing that. I know that those points have been raised in previous sessions, but there is a fundamental point about having a clear understanding of the need and demand and about working with suppliers to find the most effective way of addressing that.

The first point is implicit in what Mr Stewart stated and echoes the points that were made earlier about East Ayrshire. That example demonstrates what is possible under the existing legislative framework, which permits the kind of activity that he has described.

On the question of why other public bodies and other contracting authorities do not take a similar approach, that will, ultimately, reflect the decisions that they have taken. As I touched on earlier, local authorities are, of course, democratically accountable to their electorate.

I will not re-rehearse the points that have been made about the various examples of facilitating and sharing best practice—whether in person or online—but, with regard to how we can further support public bodies to share best practice beyond what we have already set out, I will, of course, carefully consider the committee’s views and reflections on the matter. This is a statement of the obvious, but the key point is that the examples of good practice that have been identified are occurring under the existing framework, so they demonstrate what is possible.

I do not know whether Graeme Cook has any reflections on the broader point about sharing best practice and whether he can unpack why some authorities will take one approach while others might not choose to take the same approach.

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.