As a result of the UK's exit from the EU and the ending of the trading transition period at 11 p.m. on 31 December 2020, there have been some minor procurement changes which are outlined below:

Finding Scottish Public Contracts Opportunities after 11pm on 31 December 2020

Contract opportunities from Scottish public bodies have continued to appear on Public Contracts Scotland (PCS).

In addition, ‘higher value regulated procurement’ notices now appear on a new UK wide e-notification service called Find a Tender Service (FTS). All of these notices can continue to be accessed via PCS.

Public sector contract opportunities in the EU can continue to be accessed via Tenders Electronic Daily (TED).

​If you have any queries please contact: Procurement_Development@gov.scot ​

European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) 

The UK now use a Single Procurement Document (SPD) instead of the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD).

There are only some slight changes between the SPD and the ESPD e.g. in terminology such as removing "member states" from the document. 

In summary:

  • If the procurement exercise you are bidding for was advertised before 11 p.m. on 31 December 2020 then it will use the European Single Procurement Document  - the ESPD (Scotland).
  • If the procurement exercise you are bidding for was advertised after 11 p.m. on 31 December 2020 then it will use the Single Procurement Document  - the SPD (Scotland).

(There are some exceptions to the above e.g. for Framework Agreements or Dynamic Purchasing Agreements that were advertised before this date of for EU funded contracts).

In either of the above scenarios the buyer for the procurement exercise will provide the document (either the SPD or the ESPD) that you need to complete and submit as part of your bid.  Any saved ESPD responses you have made in your supplier profile will still be applicable to the new SPD.

​If you have any queries about the change from the ESPD to the SPD please contact: Procurement_Development@gov.scot 

Standard Documentation and Guidance 

Guidance contained within the Supplier Journey has been updated to reflect any changes as a result of the EU transition period ending. 

This is still a period of transition and therefore the Supplier Journey will continue to be updated with new developments which will be ongoing throughout 2021. 

To ensure you do not miss any further updates, please register to receive free Supplier Journey email alerts by going to Notify Me of Changes.