Procurement Strategy 2024-27

As a high profile Scottish Public Sector Body, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is acutely aware of the value that effective procurement and contract and supplier management processes deliver to an organisation. They can lead to reductions in expenditure and to identifying innovative ways in delivering goods and services to support the operational functions of COPFS, to meet its corporate objectives.

The establishment in 2017/2018 of a dedicated Central Procurement Team in COPFS demonstrated the commitment by the organisation to undertaking procurement and contract management in a compliant and effective manner. When buying and paying for goods and services, the Central Procurement Team and those staff within Crown Office with Delegated Procurement Authority take account of the statutory procurement legislation, the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), Scottish Procurement Policy Notices (SPPNs) and the COPFS Procurement Policy Manual. COPFS continues to award contracts that provide value for money (while meeting the “General Duties” of transparency, equal treatment, proportionality and mutual recognition in public procurement activity and its wider aspirations under the National Outcomes of the National Performance Framework, including Fair Work Practices, Sustainability and responding to the Climate Emergency).

COPFS is aware of the impact of the external environment on our procurement and contract management and that the Strategy will need to be adapted to take account of external events out-with the control and influence of COPFS e.g. the post COVID-19 pandemic period and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. COPFS will continue to monitor its environment and take appropriate action in relation to its procurement activities.

The owner of this Strategy on behalf of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the Director of Finance and Procurement who can be contacted at 25 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1LA.

This Strategy covers a three year period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027. It will be reviewed annually with updated versions  published on our website: COPFS Procurement Strategy.

This Corporate Procurement Strategy should be read in conjunction with COPFS’ Strategic Plan and the Financial Strategy as all three are closely aligned and related.

It should also be read in conjunction with the COPFS Annual Procurement Report which charts our progress towards delivering our Strategy.

Details of our objectives and activities can be found at: www.copfs.gov.uk

The Procurement Steering Board is at the heart of our Governance arrangements that includes key stakeholders from across the organisation. In order to ensure that the Board is driven by the Central Procurement Team’s internal customers, the Head of Business Management for Local Court is the Chair of the Board, and in order to ensure that the full commitment of the CPT is demonstrated, the Director of Finance and Procurement is the senior sponsor.

Under the Steering Board’s guidance:

• All procurement policies have continued to be revised and further enhanced following their launch in November 2017;
• Key roles and responsibilities of COPFS staff have been defined, and training and guidance to staff involved in the procurement and contract management processes have been provided;
• Recruitment of experienced and qualified procurement professionals has proven to be difficult, so after consideration of our options, it was decided that COPFS would ‘Grow our Own’. This has resulted in the Central Procurement Team (CPT) being fully resourced albeit with 5 staff undergoing professional training and development. The Director of Finance and Procurement is the head of the CPT. The Head of Procurement reports directly to the Director of Finance and Procurement and provides leadership and management to the Central Procurement Team.

COPFS recognise the benefits of having professionally qualified staff. The Team comprises the following:

• Two fully qualified MCIPS members of staff;
• Two CIPS (Level 4) qualified members of staff;
• Four members undertaking or about to undertake CIPS (Level 4) qualifications.

Detailed procurement procedures are set out in the COPFS Procurement Policy Manual and Procurement Process Checklist. These procedures and processes must be followed by all staff who engage in procurement activities on behalf of COPFS.

Our procurement activity has the potential to deliver a wide range of social and economic benefits as well as financial savings for the taxpayer which are part of the tender scoring matrix.

Our wave plan of procurements will enable stakeholders who are involved in the re-letting of contracts to build sufficient time into the end to end procurement process to maximise savings and benefits from contract relets.

COPFS 2024-25 non-staff expenditure accounts for a significant part of COPFS’s expenditure (approximately £37m plus £10m capital from a total cash budget of IRO £213 million (running costs and capital)).

Budgets are currently set by the Scottish Parliament for a single financial year. The exact timing of publication of the budget varies and COPFS received confirmation of its Parliamentary approved budget for 2024-25 in December 2023. This strategy will be updated each Financial Year of this Strategy once our budget allocations for those years are known.

This Procurement Strategy describes the strategic and operational approach to procurement activity which is designed to ensure compliance with legislation and outlines the focus for procurement during the term of the Strategy. It reflects our commitment to take a responsible and sustainable approach to procurement and to embed requirements under the Sustainable Procurement Duty by using the guidance and tools provided by the Scottish Government: Sustainable Procurement Duty.

The Strategy applies to all regulated procurement and ensures that:

• Staff are supported to deliver our corporate objectives in such a manner as to make optimum use of all resources; and
• Procurement and Contract Management activities are undertaken effectively, efficiently and economically while ultimately contributing to the realisation of economic, social and environmental benefits.

Our focus is on Securing Value for Money, based on the Scottish Model of Procurement which defines Value for Money as the best balance of cost, quality and sustainability while contributing to our broader aims and objectives. The Scottish Model of Procurement demonstrates how we do that while:

• Improving supplier access to public contracts;
• Embedding sustainability in all that we do;
• Maximising efficiency and collaboration; and
• Delivering savings and benefits.

Scottish Public Bodies are legally obliged to comply with the statutory procurement legislation published by Scottish Government. These are:

• the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014;
• the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015;
• the Procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2016;
• the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016; and
• the Concessions Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016

It is also recognised that COPFS procurement activity contributes to the delivery of the Scottish National Outcomes, especially those related to economy, environment, fair work and business, poverty and human rights.

The Scottish National Outcomes are formed around:

Our Purpose

To focus on creating a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through increased wellbeing, and sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

and

Our Values

We are a society which treats all our people with kindness, dignity and compassion, respects the rule of law, and acts in an open and transparent way.

These are demonstrated by commitment to:

• We have a globally competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive and sustainable economy;
• We are open, connected and make a positive contribution internationally;
• We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally;
• We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe;
• We grow up loved, safe and respected, so that we realise our full potential;
• We are well educated, skilled and able to contribute to society;
• We have thriving and innovative businesses, with quality jobs and fair work for everyone;
• We are healthy and active;
• We value, enjoy, protect and enhance our environment;
• We are creative and our vibrant and diverse cultures are expressed and enjoyed widely; and
• We respect, protect and fulfil human rights and live free from discrimination.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 Section 15 requires any public organisation, which has an estimated total value of regulated procurement spend of £5 million or more (excluding VAT) in a financial year, to prepare and publish a Corporate Procurement Strategy. COPFS incorporates the Scottish Government  Statutory Guidance in relation to Fair Work Practices, Sustainable Procurement Duty and Climate Change priorities.

Each year, COPFS will publish an Annual Procurement Report (APR) to document the progress that we have made towards implementing our Procurement Strategy.

To undertake high quality, legally compliant procurement activity and to manage our contracts effectively to support COPFS to deliver its corporate aims and objectives.

To ensure that procurement and contract management by COPFS delivers value for money, cost savings and improved efficiencies for the benefit of the COPFS and all of our stakeholders.

We will work towards achieving best practice in procurement and contract management and continuous improvement in delivering value for money and quality in the goods, services and works that are procured; while complying with statutory procurement regulations, behaviours and standards.

Our work will continue to be focussed on the following key areas:

• Delivering savings, benefits and efficiencies through procurement and contract management activity;
• Obtaining maximum benefit from the money that COPFS spends on goods, services and works by ensuring that they are fit for purpose, of the required quality, delivered at the right time, all at the right price;
• Supporting the delivery of our corporate objectives - to ensure that as much of our total budget as possible is available to maintain staff numbers, thereby ensuring that we deliver against our performance targets;
• Compliance with statutory procurement legislation, the Scottish Public Finance Manual, Scottish Procurement Policy Notices and other legal requirements;
• Enabling procurement and commercial capability through the provision of:
  • Procurement and commercial policy and advice;
  • Specialist ISD and Estates procurement policy and advice;
  • Property, asset and estate management advice as requested by the COPFS and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Facilities Management Shared Service Board;
  • e-commerce solutions, best practice tools and templates;
• A focus on developing our people and ensuring supportive and enabling cultures; and
• Proportionate project assurance and continuous improvement activity.

Our procurement processes are designed to ensure that all of our procurements are carried out in compliance with our duty to treat economic operators equally and without discrimination and that all procurements are carried out in compliance with our duty to act in a transparent and proportionate manner.

COPFS has 5 key objectives in relation to procurement and contract management:

• Delivering Value for Money, Compliance and Control;
• Delivering sustainable procurement;
• Raising the level of procurement knowledge, skills and expertise;
• Strengthening Contract and Supplier management; and
• Achieving the benefits derived from collaborative working

Our aims are:

• to secure value for money by working closely with users of the goods, services and works we procure to understand and help them articulate their requirements;
• securing savings from better procurement and contract management which allow the reduction of non-staff budgets and the redeployment of funding to staff budgets;
• ensuring that all procurement activity is under a valid contract (minimising Off Contract Expenditure);
• ensuring that all contracts are awarded through a compliant process which is consistent with COPFS’s procurement policies and procedures; and
• ensuring that all contracts are entered into by staff with the requisite Delegated Procurement Authority, following a robust approvals process including robust, compelling and proportionate business cases.

How we will achieve this objective

• Develop and deploy standard tools throughout the organisation to ensure any procurement exercise will be evaluated on VfM principles;
• Develop feedback mechanism to ensure customer satisfaction with any procurement exercise, i.e. COPFS users, suppliers and SG Framework Managers;
• Deploy training to ensure staff who are involved with procurement exercises have appropriate knowledge and skills;
• Participate in the Procurement and Commercial Improvement Programme (PULSE) implemented by the Scottish Government;
• Ensure contracts are robust and proportionate and effective contract management;
• CPT work in conjunction with Finance within COPFS to establish savings targets for each contract as part of the annual business planning round;
• COPFS shall conduct a quarterly spend analysis to identify off contract expenditure and shall propose the appropriate procurement routes to be taken. These opportunities will be added to the contract wave plan;
• Ensure adequate planning for future procurement activities; and
• Use of external expertise for evaluations from other parts of Government or Judicial partners.

How we will measure our success

• Maximise both cash and non-cash benefits from existing contracts;
• Identify wider benefits, including social and community benefits for any re-let or new contract opportunity;
• Suppliers meet the technical standards and deliver quantifiable results; and
• Improve or maintain PCIP (PULSE) outcomes.

• We aim to comply in full with our legal obligations and to treat all suppliers fairly, equally and without discrimination. To that end, only staff with appropriate training and experience are authorised to oversee regulated procurements;
• We are committed to making public procurement transparent and accessible to businesses, especially SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses;
• Sustainable public procurement aims to make the best use of public money, helping the government to achieve its overarching purpose and strategic objectives. The sustainable procurement duty requires that before we buy anything, we must think about how we can – through our procurements - improve the social, environmental and economic wellbeing in Scotland, with a particular focus on reducing inequality. It also requires us to think about, and then design, our procurement processes in such a manner as to encourage the involvement of SMEs, third sector bodies and supported business and also how we can use public procurement to promote innovation;
• COPFS is cognisant of sustainable procurement and encourages sustainable procurement across the organisation;
• Using the Scottish Government sustainable procurement duty tools (https://sustainableprocurementtools.scot/), we consider sustainability early in a procurement process, which enables us to identify risks and opportunities before commissioning suppliers. This will enable us to develop individual commodity strategies for our contracts, within which we can embed sustainability, and maximising opportunities for SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses to participate in the procurement process.

How we will achieve this objective

• We have set out our policies on each of the general duties of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014;
• Consideration of sustainable procurement principles at the strategy stage for all procurements and completing a sustainable procurement test for all regulated procurements;
• promoting Scottish Government initiatives on sustainable procurement;
• provision of training for CPT staff to increase their knowledge on sustainability;
• a contracts register is published on the COPFS website listing all regulated procurements over £50K; and
• advertise all regulated procurements over £50K on PCS.

How we will measure our success

• Increased delivery of sustainable, environmental and social benefits; and
• Reports of all sustainable deliverables – using data extracted from the Contract Database.

COPFS will provide procurement training to staff who have responsibility for any aspect of procurement activities. More detailed procurement training will be provided to staff depending on the post and associated procurement responsibilities. On-going training needs will be recorded in individual training and development plans as part of the annual staff appraisal process. COPFS holds a central register of all procurement training undertaken by staff.

How we will achieve this objective

• Provide targeted training for all staff involved in procurement activities;
• review and update tools, templates, information and guidance for staff involved in procurement;
• provide commercial awareness training to staff who require procurement awareness; and
• produce procurement policy documents and publish them on our intranet to support staff using contracts.

How we will measure our success

• All requests for regulated procurements on the COPFS wave plan will be reviewed and agreed with the Central Procurement Team;
• staff engage with the procurement process and start to carry out low level procurements themselves (under £10k);
• reduction in off-contract spend; and
• closer working relationships between the CPT and functions within COPFS.

We fully understand the importance of effective contract management in the delivery of goods, services and works, to ensure savings and quality is delivered under the terms of the contracts. Our aim is embedding effective and proportionate contract management for every contract to ensure service delivery standards are met or exceeded. 

How we will achieve this objective

• Provide targeted contract management training and guidance for COPFS staff responsible for contract management;
• include clear contract management requirements including Key Performance Indicators and performance measurements, proportionate to the level of contract management required; and
• perform regular review of contract performance and hold regular review meetings with suppliers, proportionate to the contract management level required.

How we will measure our success

• Savings/benefits will be delivered and captured by COPFS;
• improved supplier performance in delivery of KPIs;
• reduction in supplier complaints/disputes; and
• reduction in invoice queries as correct prices are charged by suppliers in accordance with the terms of Contracts.

The aim is to embed the practise of collaborative procurement whenever and wherever appropriate throughout the organisation.  Identification of opportunities for working with others, in order to widen the scope for maximising purchasing power and identifying innovations.

COPFS will continue to collaborate with other public organisations where it meets COPFS priorities. Director of Finance and Procurement is currently the Chair of the Central Government Procurement Shared Services (CGPSS) Board and representatives from the CPT volunteer to support Scottish Procurement UIGs.

How we will achieve this objective

• Use SG and other Public Sector Framework Agreements, where possible;
• COPFS is co-located in several locations with the SCTS and seeks to maximise the benefits of collaborative agreements, for example Hard and Soft Facilities Management Services;
• engage with SG procurement cluster groups regularly to facilitate dialogue, learning and opportunities in procurement;
• engage with Judicial partners;
• our governance processes for procurement involves comprehensive stakeholder representation at all stages of the procurement process; and
• use of any shared service agreements, where appropriate. COPFS currently use the Scottish Government’s Procurement Shared Service (CGPSS).

How we will measure our success:

• Maximise the use of collaborative contracts;
• increased participation in Scottish Government user groups and intelligence gathering forums for procurement; and
• no complaints from stakeholders that they should have been engaged.

The COPFS contract database identifies both relets of existing contracts and new contracts. We publish the contracts register on our website, which details our regulated procurements, as required by legislation.