The Council's aim is to ensure that, wherever possible and, consistent with the need to secure value for money, suitably qualified Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have the opportunity to compete for Council business.
The barriers to business that SMEs face in bidding for work are recognised by the Council and we commit to engaging with this sector to ensure SMEs are not unduly discriminated against in the procurement process.
The definition of an SME is described as a business with less than 250 employees.
In the interests of local economic development it is sometimes suggested local authorities should operate a positive discrimination policy ensuring that SMEs are awarded an agreed percentage of all public sector contracts. However while inclusion of SMEs in competitive tendering exercises should have the benefit of increased competition, quotas would act against the principle of Value For Money (VFM) and would also be in direct contravention of Procurement legislation - Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Scottish Government Procurement Policy states: ''It is Government policy to take steps to remove barriers to participation by SMEs. There are many ways in which this can be done, such as improving access to procurement opportunities and information, which do not discriminate against larger firms and which help to improve VFM by increasing competition.''
Given the nature and often comparatively large size of public sector contracts, there will inevitably be circumstances when SMEs will have the best opportunities to tender for contracts as part of a consortium, as opposed to as a main contractor.
The Council will work in partnership with the Economic Development teams to deliver on the initiatives such as those detailed in the Economic Development 'Growing the Local Economy Action Plan', which contains objectives such as:
- Contract Process - To make the tender process more efficient and cost-effective
- Communication - To raise awareness of the procurement initiative
- SME Concordat - To develop a concordat that will focus in on key areas and provide an agreement between small businesses and the Council
We will actively engage with the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Business to progress our support of the local business community in Tayside.
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