Julie Welsh

The centre of procurement expertise for local government is a finalist in the Scottish Public Service Awards 2023 Commercial Partnerships Category. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh tonight.

The shortlist recognises the organisation’s successful work to develop local supply chain opportunities when delivering two new frameworks: Building Construction Consultancy (BCC) and Property Maintenance and Refurbishment (PMR).

Julie Welsh, Scotland Excel chief executive, said: “We have a commitment to developing opportunities for small and micro suppliers across Scotland where possible. This is good for Scottish supply chains and it is important for our 32 member councils to have local choice when using our frameworks.

“When bringing these two new frameworks onto our construction portfolio, we were keen to make sure small and micro companies in Scotland were able to bid to deliver projects. After running engagement sessions with the supply base, we structured the contracts in a regional way that accommodated the scale of work packages that local businesses could bid to deliver.

“As a result of our successful approach, both frameworks have high percentages of SME and micro suppliers. I’m delighted that this work has been shortlisted for a Scottish Public Service Award, and I’d like to wish all other finalists the very best of luck.”

BCC has 62 Scottish SMEs on a 94-strong framework supplier list, while PMR has 53 Scottish SMEs on an overall supplier list of 88.

These Scottish businesses now have the opportunity to secure a share of the business of each framework.

While Scotland’s 32 councils now have access to a wide variety of specialist small, medium and micro suppliers (including sole traders) who have been through the tender process and are ready to do business.