Freedom of Information: Contract Register, Procurement Strategy, and Contact Details

Date: 10 July 2024 

Our ref: SIR176102/A4644794

Information Request – Contract register

Thank you for your information request, which we received on 26th June 2024. We have considered your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’).

Your Request

  1. Contract Register Request:

I am seeking the full and entirety of the organisation's contract register or database. The register should include the following columns/headings or something similar:

  • Contract Reference -Unique reference number associated with the contract.
  • Contract Title
  • Procurement Category
  • Supplier Name
  • Spend (Total, Annual or contract value)
  • Contract Duration
  • Contract Extensions
  • Contract Start Date
  • Contract Expiry Date
  • Contract Description [Please provide me with as much detail as possible.]
  • Contact Owner (Person that manages the contract register)
  • Contact details of section 151 officer
  • CPV codes/Pro-Class
  • How many contracts are currently held on the contract register

If any of the headings within your contract register has not been provided, please state this within your response.

Please provide the contract's register file in Excel format.

2. Procurement Strategy Document Request:

  • Can the organisation provide a full version of their Procurement Strategy for the fiscal year 2024-2025?
  • If the Procurement Strategy is a strategic direction (2022-2025) instead of an annual plan, please provide an update document for 2023-2024. If an update cannot be provided, please provide information on when an update is planned to be published.
  • We require the full document. If any parts of this document have been removed, please state this within your response.

3. Contact Details Request:

  • Provide contact details of the person responsible for API or data sharing, including [Name, Job Title, Telephone, Email Address].
  • Provide contact details of the person responsible for the actual contract's register, including [Name, Job Title, Telephone, Email Address].

IMPORTANT:

  1. If the organisation has a CRM system or a similar system, ensure there is a facility to download and extract contract data.
  2. If providing a weblink to a portal, ensure that all contracts are included, as some organisations may only upload a small portion of their contracts.
  3. For organisations planning to make an exemption around spend, clarify that the spend information requested is an overall figure, and a complete breakdown is not required. Please provide the contract's register file in Excel format.

Our Response

Contract Register

We have carried out a search of the information we hold, and our response is attached separately. The spreadsheet contains all the relevant information, except for information about the Contract Owner. There is not one person in our Procurement Team that has overall responsibility for it. All queries in relation to contracts on the PCS portal should be directed to the Contract Advertising mailbox address - contract [email protected]. We also do not have a Section 151 Officer, as this only applies to local authorities in England and Wales.

The information that we have provided to you is valid at the time the information is extracted (in this case on the 28th June 2024) and is sourced using the information on contracts contained in the Public Contract Scotland’s portal. This live portal is open to anyone and can be accessed using the following link - Public Contracts Scotland. 

Procurement Strategy Document

In line with the Scottish Government's statutory guidance for the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 NatureScot are not obliged to publish an annual procurement strategy or report. We do, however, update the strategy as and when the Scottish Government disseminate changes to legislate, policies such as updates to Fair Work Practices, Climate Change etc. NatureScot’s Procurement Strategy from 2022 onwards is available from our website. 

Contact Details

The Scottish Government is the owner of contract for the platform that hosts the PCS Portal. Please see above, ‘Contracts Register’ section, for additional contact details.

Review and Appeal

I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.

If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Scottish Information Commissioner 
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road 
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS

Online appeal service

FOI Website

Telephone: 01334 464610

Yours sincerely

FOI Officer, 
NatureScot [email protected]

Document downloads

Due to accessibility issues the attached information, referenced above, is available on request by contacting the FOI team at [email protected]. Please reference the case number (starting with SIR).