Public Procurement in Scotland

Scotland's public sector

The public sector in Scotland spends over £10 billion a year on goods and services. The Scottish Government views itself as a key partner and enabler to deliver Scotland’s economic strategy. Procurement contracting between the public, private and third sectors is seen as a sustainable investment in Scotland’s people, infrastructure and assets that encourages innovation and promotes inclusive economic growth.

Scotland's public procurement regime

The EU public procurement regime applied in Scotland until the UK left the EU at the end of 2020, but remains key to Scotland’s public procurement regime and EU compliance. Under UK devolution arrangements, the Scottish Parliament implemented the 2014 EC Directives on Procurement and other EU laws into Scots law, and as yet there has been no change to these Scottish Regulations:

Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015

Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016

Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

Sustainable procurement duty

The Scottish Government added to these requirements by creating a “sustainable procurement duty” for public bodies, under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.

Under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), EU companies should be able to participate on an equal footing with UK companies in bids for tenders covered by the TCA, and vice-versa. The UK Government is consulting on changes to the UK public procurement regime.

In 2016, we were one of the first law firms in Scotland to become accredited Living Wage employers.
Shortlisted for Firm of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2022.
Winners of Corporate & Commercial Team of the Year and Family Law Team of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2020.
Our Real Estate team won the Property Team of the Year Award at the British Legal Awards in 2018.
Winner of SME of the Year at the Scottish SME Awards 2017, hosted by Scottish Business Insider.
Highly Commended for Commercial Team of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2016.
In 2019, MacRoberts achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification, a UK Government entry-level information security standard.
MacRoberts holds the ISO 9001:2015 certification for Quality Management, the most widely recognised quality management system standard in the world.
MacRoberts holds the ISO14001:2015 certification for Environmental Management, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to environmental awareness.
MacRoberts holds the ISO27001:2013 certification for Information Security, an internationally recognised security gold standard.
Business continuity is a critical element of the Business Management System at MacRoberts and we hold full accreditation with the ISO 22301:2019.
MacRoberts is a member of IP Inclusive, a network of intellectual property professionals working to make our community more equal, diverse and inclusive.
We are active members of the PRIME Programme – an organisation that focuses on ensuring a career in law is open to talent from all economic and social backgrounds.
MacRoberts supports the Scottish Business Pledge, a values-led partnership between Government and business that is based on boosting productivity and competitiveness through fairness, equality and sustainable employment.
We are supporters of the Partnership for Change, a network of organisations and individuals who share a common ambition to improve diversity on boards and in senior leadership.
We are a member of the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI), a UK-based not-for-profit organisation which helps employers build and maintain diverse teams and inclusive cultures through our membership, training, and consultancy services.
In 2022, MacRoberts was awarded enei's Silver TIDEMark. TIDE is enei's self-assessment evaluation and benchmarking tool which measures an organisation's overall approach and progress on diversity and inclusion.
MacRoberts is a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to disability equality across our firm.
MacRoberts fully supports flexible working practices and supports family-friendly working practices.
In 2022, MacRoberts received a Bronze Award in Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index for our commitment to LGBTQI+ inclusivity in the workplace.
MacRoberts is a longstanding member of Scotland Food & Drink, the leading trade association for Scotland's food and drink industry.
MacRoberts is an Associate Member of SELECT, Scotland's largest construction trade association.