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Procurement Annual Report

1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

IMAGE: The Orkney Islands Council crest and logo appear above the title “Procurement Annual Report” and the date “1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.”

Contents

  • Introduction — 5
  • Section 1 – Summary of Regulated Procurements Completed — 7
  • Section 2 – Review of Regulated Procurement Compliance — 8
    • Procurement and Commercial Improvement Programme (PCIP) — 8
    • Internal Audit — 9
    • Contract Standing Orders — 9
    • Procurement Strategy — 9
  • Section 3 – Community Benefit Summary — 11
    • Procurements that have included Community Benefits — 11
    • Other considerations — 12
  • Section 4 – Supported Businesses Summary — 15
  • Section 5 – Future Regulated Procurements Summary — 16
  • Section 6 – Other Information — 17
    • Supplier Development — 17
    • Collaboration and Partnering Opportunities — 17
    • Procurement Annual Spend Data — 21
    • Climate Change Duties — 23
    • Biodiversity Duty — 24
    • Scotland’s Public Procurement Reporting Requirements for 2023-24 — 24
  • Appendix 1 – Summary of Regulated Procurements 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 — 25
  • Appendix 2 – Procurement Strategy Targets/Indicators 2023 to 2028 — 28
  • Appendix 3 - Forward Plan for Regulated and Unregulated Procurements April 2024 to March 2026 — 31

Definition of Key Terms

TermDefinition
Contract.An agreement between the Council and any Contractor made by formal agreement or by issue of acceptance or an official order for Supplies, Services or Works.
Contractor(s).Includes any sole trader, partnership or company (limited or unlimited) or any duly incorporated trade, professional or commercial body.
Delegated Authority.Officers who have been given formal written authority by their Executive Director or Chief Officer to manage procurement exercises within a specified value range on behalf of the Council.
Threshold.The threshold for determining the application of the Regulations. In the case of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 the threshold is £214,904 (indicative value excluding 20% VAT £179,087) for Supplies and Services and £5,372,609 (indicative value excluding 20% VAT £4,477,174) for Works. In the case of the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 the threshold is £429,809 (indicative value excluding 20% VAT £358,174) for Supplies and Services and £5,372,609 (indicative value excluding 20% VAT £4,477,174) for Works.
Framework Agreement.An overarching agreement with supplier(s) to establish terms governing individual contracts that may be awarded during the life of the agreement (‘call-offs’), concluded in accordance with Section 34 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Health and Social Care Services.A public contract or framework for social and other specific services listed in Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Life-Cycle Costing.All consecutive or interlinked stages, including research and development to be carried out, production, trading and its conditions, transport, use and maintenance, throughout the existence of the product or the works or the provision of the service, from raw material acquisition or generation of resources to disposal, clearance and end of service or utilisation.
Procurement.The process leading to the award of a public contract or framework agreement or establishment of a dynamic purchasing system for the acquisition of works, supplies or services from an economic operator.
Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) portal.The Scottish Government’s official national advertising portal for public sector contract opportunities.
Quick Quote (QQ).An online quotation facility which allows the Council to obtain competitive quotes electronically for:
- Low value requirements between £10,000 and £50,000; and
- Unregulated Works Contracts, depending on complexity of contract (as defined in Clause 17 of the Council’s Contract Standing Orders).
Quotation.A formal offer to supply or purchase supplies, execute works or provide services where the estimated value of the contract is below £50,000.
Regulated Procurement.As defined by the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and referred to as the Reform Act ‘slice’ a regulated procurement for Goods or Services Contracts with a value of £50,000 or above and for Works Contracts over £2,000,000 and less than the relevant Thresholds.
Regulations.The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, the Procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and / or the Concession Contract (Scotland) Regulations 2016 as the context requires, but where the Council is acting as a Harbour Authority and chooses to do so, the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016.
Supplies.Goods or the hire of goods and for any siting or installation of those goods.
Tender.A formal offer to supply or purchase supplies, execute works or provide services where the estimated value of the contract is £50,000 (excluding VAT) or more.
Unregulated Works Procurement.A contract for Works with a value of between £50,000 and £2,000,000, being a procurement not covered by the Regulations and procured utilising the Council’s database of pre-approved contractors.
Works.Building construction, building maintenance or engineering works.

Introduction

Orkney Islands Council (‘the Council’), provides a range of facilities and services to a community with a population estimated as 22,020 in mid 2022 by the Office of National Statistics. The Council is also the Harbour Authority with a port estate of 29 piers and harbours, a Roads Authority for the islands and operates a network of inter-island air and ferry services.

The Council provides procurement and related services for a wide range of works, supplies and services with an annual spend, for the financial year 2023 to 2024, of over £61 million.

The Council operates a devolved model of procurement across five directorates. The central Procurement Services Team is based within Legal and Governance and consists of 4.7 full-time equivalent staff: a Service Manager (Procurement), three Procurement Officers and an Assistant Procurement Officer post. The Service Manager’s responsibilities include the development of a network of 16 trained and experienced officers across the Council who are assigned delegated responsibility for the procurement of supplies, services and works.

The Council published its Procurement Strategy, as required by the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (“the Act”), in December 2016, and updated this in January 2019, June 2020, June 2023 and most recently in March 2024. To report compliance with its Procurement Strategy and the Act itself, the Council must publish an annual report.

There are 11 key priorities identified in the Procurement Strategy as follows:

  • Sustainability, Climate Change and Net Zero Targets.
  • Working with local suppliers.
  • Value for money.
  • Collaboration and partnering.
  • Governance.
  • Contract management.
  • Communication.
  • E-Procurement.
  • Monitoring and measurement.
  • Guidance.
  • Training.

There are six key priority areas where targets and indicators have been identified and are attributable for the Procurement Strategy reporting period ending 31 March 2024 and are as follows:

  • Sustainability.
  • Working with local suppliers.
  • Value for money.
  • Collaboration and partnering.
  • Contract management.
  • E-Procurement.

The guidance and template issued by the Scottish Government has been used for this seventh Procurement Annual Report. The reporting period for this seventh annual report is from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

In addition to the required information set out in the Act, this report includes performance against several strategic indicators as detailed in the Council’s Procurement Strategy 2023 to 2028.

To evidence our progress against our strategic targets and the new duties introduced by the Act, the published Annual Report details the form of measurements taken. The statistics presented in this report provide the evidence which should, over time, show how the Council is progressing against both the national and local objectives. Targets were set in the Council’s Procurement Strategy and progress towards these has been noted in this seventh Procurement Annual Report.

Section 1 – Summary of Regulated Procurements Completed

Section 18(2) of the Act requires organisations to include ‘a summary of the regulated procurements that have been completed during the year covered by the report’.

As defined by the Act and referred to as the Reform Act ‘slice’ a regulated procurement is for Goods or Services Contracts with a value of £50,000 or above and for Works Contracts over £2,000,000 and less than the relevant Thresholds.

A Regulated Procurement is completed when the award notice is published or where the procurement process otherwise comes to an end. This includes contracts and framework agreements.

Appendix 1 provides the breakdown of the Regulated Procurements completed for the reporting period of 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Section 2 – Review of Regulated Procurement Compliance

All procurement exercises carried out by the Council are required to be carried out in accordance with the Council’s Contract Standing Orders (CSOs) and these are regularly updated to take account of changes in legislation and best practice in procurement. The CSOs were last reviewed and updated in February 2024.

Prior to the point of contract award, all recommendation reports are required to include a statement that the CSOs have been complied with, therefore full compliance is anticipated. Examples of internal and external review of the Council’s processes and compliance with these processes are detailed in the audit / improvement capability outcomes as follows:

Procurement and Commercial Improvement Programme (PCIP)

The Council first completed Scotland Excel’s PCIP in July 2017. The PCIP is undertaken every two years. A second PCIP assessment for the Council took place on 3 September 2019 with the most recent undertaken on 19 March 2024. Outcomes and recommendations from this exercise are incorporated into the Procurement Team Service Improvement Plan as a process of ongoing improvement.

The objective of the PCIP is to assist the Council to improve its structure, capability, processes and ultimately performance by attaining a level of procurement performance that is appropriate to the scale and complexity of its business. As part of the PCIP the Council is required to demonstrate a prudent and well-planned approach to defining its supply needs. Assessment of the Council’s procurement improvement capability is carried out by Scotland’s Centre of Expertise, Scotland Excel, and covers procurement activities carried out by the Council’s Officers with Delegated Authority in the Procurement, Capital Projects, Facilities and Engineering Teams.

The PCIP identified the following Key Opportunities for further improvement, all of which have been incorporated into the Procurement Service Improvement Plan.

RefDescription
I1The Council can benefit from expanding the content of procurement plans, namely collating a view of high value and high-risk procurement activities across the Council. This would allow the team to focus their resources on these key areas.
I2The team recognised the need for a suite of documents and processes to cover a number of key procurement areas including Contract and Supplier Management.
I3Although the team seek to utilise available learning and development opportunities, a more structured approach may benefit the organisation. Use of the competency framework within the team and with delegated procurement officers would be a positive step.
I4The Council would benefit from including a risk status on each of its procurement contracts within the contract register. The majority of risks are about procurement and not the wider risk post-award. It would be ideal to include the risks of managing the supplier post-award. This would allow greater clarity and focus on key areas.
I5Although Procurement Influence achieved Developing, should the Council add evidence that the whole organisation has embedded corporate sourcing procedures which recognise sustainable and climate considerations, using the relevant tools throughout the procurement processes, then Improving Area or more could be achieved.
I6The Council would benefit from undertaking a Conflict-of-Interest form annually. Consider that the DPOs do this too.

Internal Audit

The following two internal audits were undertaken within the reporting period of 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Orkney College Archaeology Institute

An internal audit of Orkney College Archaeology Institute was completed during the reporting period 2023/24. The findings of this report were presented to the Monitoring and Audit Committee on 21 September 2023 and provided limited assurance around the framework of governance, risk management and control relating to the Orkney Archaeology Institute. The Audit Report is available here.

Orkney College UHI Institute for Northern Studies

An internal audit of Orkney College UHI Institute for Northern Studies was completed prior to the end of the reporting period 2023/24. The findings of this report were presented to the Monitoring and Audit Committee on 21 September 2023 and provided limited assurance around the procedures and controls relating to the business aspects of the Institute. The Audit Report is available here.

Contract Standing Orders

The Council’s Contract Standing Orders are regularly updated to take account of changes in legislation with the latest update of the Council’s Contract Standing Orders undertaken in February 2024 to take account of the Threshold changes which took effect in January 2024, and the addition of a new internal audit action to undertake financial assessments for contracts put in place using the Non Competitive Action procedure.

All Contracts that are awarded by the Council, regardless of value, are subject to an obligation to seek best value and to demonstrate transparency, equal treatment, non-discrimination and proportionality.

Contracts awarded by the Council must comply with the CSOs.

Officers are required to comply with the CSOs, the Scheme of Delegation to Officers, the Scheme of Administration and the Financial Regulations.

Procurement Strategy

The Council’s Procurement Strategy was first published in December 2016.

The Strategy was updated in January 2019, again for the period 2021 to 2023 and a further revised strategy approved in December 2023 for the period 2023-2028 following a public consultation undertaken in the Summer of 2023.

Appendix 2 attached to this report are the revised Procurement Strategy targets set out in the latest Strategy for 2023 to 2028 and records the progress made over the last financial year.

Section 3 – Community Benefit Summary

The Council has a Sustainable Procurement Policy. This policy sets out the general principles that the Council will follow across all its procurement and commissioning activities to ensure that these are undertaken in a sustainable manner.

This Policy also sets out how the Council will plan and manage its procurement activities to meet the Council’s corporate aims and objectives and comply with regulatory and legislative requirements. Finally, the Policy supports the Council’s commitment to sustainable procurement which is set out in the Council’s Corporate Procurement Strategy 2023-2028.

The Procurement Strategy is intended for all of those who are involved in, or affected by, the Council’s procurement activities throughout our community and beyond. The Council spends tens of millions of pounds each year on a diverse range of goods, services and works from third parties. It is important therefore that this spending power is used to support key Council objectives. The Sustainable Procurement Policy has been developed to help the Council to meet its legal duties and to deliver its key strategic objectives. The Sustainable Procurement Policy available here was updated and approved by Council in March 2022. Due to the Council’s fast developing policy to meet its Climate Change Duties and progress to Net Zero, the Sustainable Procurement Policy has been reviewed following a public consultation in 2024 to align with the Council Plan and the latest Procurement Strategy and is due for consideration by the Council in November 2024.

Sustainable procurement supports the Council’s values, as outlined in the Council Plan 2023-2028 and the Council Delivery Plan 2023-2028 which cover the reporting period of this Procurement Annual Report.

This Procurement Annual Report will report on the Procurement Strategy 2023 to 2028 which is aligned to the new Council Plan 2023-2028, which has the following strategic priorities:

  • Growing our Economy.
  • Strengthening our Communities.
  • Developing our Infrastructure.
  • Transforming our Council.

It is a statutory requirement that Community Benefits must be considered for all procurement processes at or above £4 million in value to meet the Council’s requirement to meet the sustainable procurement duty.

For each individual Regulated Procurement exercise, Officers with Delegated Procurement Authority must complete a ‘Commodity Strategy for all Regulated Procurements’ which includes a section on Community Benefits to be considered where applicable.

Procurements that have included Community Benefits

There have been three procurements, where Community Benefits for procurements with a contract value over the £4,000,000 threshold, have been included and have been carried out by the Council.

For procurement of Category C (local contract / framework including local collaborative framework agreements) Contracts which are undertaken by the Council, Community Benefits are included without exception as part of the award criteria where the value of the contract is over £4 million. This is recorded in the Procurement Strategy Improvement Action Plan, attached at Appendix 2.

These contracts are as follows, and have either been completed or have ongoing spend within the reporting period for this annual report:

Date of AwardSubject MatterEstimated Value (£)Start DateEnd Date
05/01/2021Inter-island Air Services4,880,363.01/04/2021.31/03/2025.
09/04/2021School and Public Bus Contracts4,672,014.16/08/2021.15/08/2031.
15/03/2022New Kirkwall Care Facility12,641,675.25/05/202223/08/2024

Where the Council can access Category A (national collaborative) contracts or Category B (sectoral collaborative) contracts via Framework Agreements the overall anticipated value of the Framework is inevitably of a high value and likely to be over the £4 million threshold for the inclusion of community benefits.

Contracts awarded under Framework Agreements are required to achieve Community Benefits as mandatory. However, for contracts awarded via a Framework Agreement it is more difficult to identify Community Benefits which will be realised locally, except where the local supply chain is involved in the delivery of the Contract.

Monitoring of Community Benefits for exercises before this year have continued as planned.

There has been no increase in the number of contracts over the value of £4 Million with Community Benefit Clauses over the past financial year. However, the inclusion of Community Benefit Clauses is now routinely considered where appropriate for all procurements.

Community Benefit Analysis.1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
Total Number of Contracts where Community Benefit Clauses have been included.3.
Number of Applicable Contracts with Community Benefit Clause.3.
Percentage of total *Applicable Contracts with Community Benefit Clauses.100%.

Other considerations

The following factors are routinely taken into consideration in relevant procurements, especially in construction or social care procurement. However, these may not always be specifically labelled as Community Benefit Award Criteria:

  • Climate change (carbon and energy consumption, carbon in production, adaption, carbon in vehicle emissions).
  • Materials (scarcity, security).
  • Waste (production, reuse / recondition / remanufacture).
  • Hazardous materials / emissions.
  • Biodiversity (protection and enhancement).
  • Heritage (protection and enhancement).
  • Water (consumption and production).
  • Employment (skills and training, SMEs / social enterprises / supported businesses).
  • Communities.
  • Fair and ethical trading (working conditions, conflict materials).
  • Equality (protected characteristics).

Following the legislative changes, and as recorded for the financial years covered by this report on the Council’s On-Contract Spend Register, Fair Work Practices are routinely included in the award criteria for all contracts. In addition, a Sustainable Procurement award criterion has been developed which can be adapted to use where relevant and proportionate for the procurement exercise undertaken. This is now included in contracts where there is an activity identified that would impact on climate change impact. There has been a total of 112 procurements undertaken including live ongoing contracts to the end of the March 2024 reporting period where Community Benefits / Sustainability Clauses have been part of the award criteria regardless of value.

The most notable significant procurement exercises which were undertaken during the current reporting period include transport and haulage services where a direct impact is made on greenhouse gas emissions, consultancy services where maximum use is made of on-line meetings and services where delivery is part of the contract, for example.

In the main, responses to the sustainable procurement and community benefits sections for these contracts have been positive and ranged from a strong awareness of the principles of Fair Work Practice and a focus on offering work placements, employment opportunities for individuals experiencing long term unemployment, apprenticeships etc to supporting community events by providing free transport.

In accordance with the Council’s Sustainable Procurement Policy, the inclusion of sustainable procurement clauses in award criteria are considered for all contracts where this is appropriate.

All Category A, B and C1 contracts awarded under a framework, either at national or UK wide level all now include both Community and/or Sustainable Procurement clauses in accordance with legislation.

A summary of the Community Benefits and Sustainable Procurement clauses as part of the award criteria for the procurements included within the reporting period are as follows:

  • Employment (skills and training, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) / social enterprises / supported businesses).
  • Fair Work Practices.
  • Transport and emissions.
  • Employment opportunities for people who experience barriers to employment.

Included in the Sustainable Procurement Policy, a Sustainable Procurement Impact Assessment (SPiA) tool has been developed and is now in use. This approach assists Senior Officers and Officers with Delegated Procurement Authority to assess where a specific procurement exercise should consider these factors at the planning stage of the procurement. For the 2023-24 reporting period, SPiAs have been undertaken at the planning stage of predominantly major capital projects which have not yet reached the award stage of the procurement process.

Section 4 – Supported Businesses Summary

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (“the Act”) includes a classification for supported business, and defines a supported business as ‘an economic operator whose main aim is the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons and where at least 30% of the employees of the economic operator are disabled or disadvantaged’.

Public organisations can restrict the right to participate in procurement for the award of a public contract / framework to supported businesses only.

This change expanded the potential for more businesses to be included in this category. The Council’s contract activity for the reporting year includes the Community Interest Company, Scottish Supported Business and Social Enterprise Company, Hey Girls period products, available in Council facilities and online through the Council’s online ordering process.

Section 5 – Future Regulated Procurements Summary

The Procurement team has worked with Corporate Directors across the Council to develop a forward procurement plan for their service areas. These plans identify the Council’s anticipated procurement activity for the coming year for Category C and C1 procurement (excluding Category A and B activity).

The Act has extended this timeframe to two years and Appendix 3 includes information regarding anticipated Regulated Procurements for that period. As referenced in the introduction above, this report includes information on all procurement activity and this is included in the Forward Plan, i.e. it also covers ‘non-regulated’ procurement.

Section 6 – Other Information

Supplier Development

In the past an annual Meet the Buyer event was held annually for the years 2018 to 2020. Since the Covid-19 pandemic and with the increase in online events, there have been no overarching Meet the Buyer events organised. However, contract specific market engagement events are considered in consultation with the service area in a format compatible with the market at the time where required and on a case-by-case basis and include in person events now. These events are organised by the service area and in conjunction with the Council’s Procurement Team.

A Business Forum meeting was organised by the Council’s Economic Development Service to engage with the local supplier market. This event highlighted the Council’s Capital Programme approved projects list, promoted the route to market for Council contracts, contract access points via Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal and highlighted local buying and sustainable procurement with a breakdown of Council spend locally and number of suppliers. This event also included an opportunity to promote the Orkney Logistics Base (Hatston) Phase 1 project, an upcoming significant construction contract opportunity.

A feature of all Meet the Buyer events is to signpost the support available via the Business Gateway Orkney Service and the Supplier Development Programme, both of which continue to be active in providing support to contractors and are actively involved in helping local firms do business better with the Council.

Meet the Buyer events, following the format of focused upcoming contract opportunities, will continue to be undertaken where this is deemed a suitable route for contract/sector specific market engagement for future procurement exercises.

Collaboration and Partnering Opportunities

In accordance with the Council’s Procurement Strategy there is a Council commitment regarding collaboration and partnering. It is recognised that greater efficiencies can be achieved by improved collaboration between different organisations within the public sector with similar requirements, whether within the local government sector or in other areas of the public sector, such as the Scottish Government, the Crown Commercial Service, Non-Departmental Public Bodies and the National Health Service (NHS).

Collaboration maximises the value of procurement whether it be through aggregation of demand or through the sharing of resources to reduce administration. Framework Agreements are noted as either a Category A Contract or a Category B Contract or Category C1 for local collaborative contracts in place. The Council’s use of these is shown in the tables below.

The Council’s internal contract register lists all purchases for works, services and supplies known to have a contract in place. This register does not include ad hoc purchases for values typically under the £10,000 minimum threshold as noted in the Council’s CSOs. There are exceptions to this rule where the nature or complexity of the contract does warrant having a contract in place regardless of being of low value (under £10k, for example, IT licensing agreements, cleaning contracts etc).

In total there are 450 live contracts listed in the Council’s contract register for the year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Tables 1 to 5 below summarise all live contracts as recorded on the Council’s Contract Register by category for the previous five complete financial years and a corresponding split between Services, Supplies and Works.

Table 1 – 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020

Contract Category AnalysisNumberPercentage of Total ValueEstimated Contract Value (£)
Category A (national).35.7.63%.£3,158,775.74.
Category B (sectoral).33.5.83%.£2,413,179.78.
Category C (local single supplier).201.71.40%.£29,559,423.37.
Category C1 (local contract / framework including local collaboration). (Examples for Category C1, are as for 2016 / 2017, the provision of contracts for food, specialist legal services working collaboratively and e-learning working collaboratively with other Public Authorities with the addition of the provision of tax advisory services).12.0.75%.£311,378.48.
Category O (other).145.14.39%.£5,959,463.85.
Total.426.100.00%.£41,402,221.23.
Type of Contract.Number of Contracts.Percentage of Total Contracts.Value of Contracts (£).Percentage of Total Value.
Service.277.65.02%£18,328,542.2744.27%
Supply.80.18.78%£12,044,994.2129.09%
Works.69.16.20%£11,028,684.7526.64%
Total.426.100.00%.£41,402.221.23100.00%.

Table 2 – 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021

Contract Category AnalysisNumberPercentage of Total ValueEstimated Contract Value (£)
Category A (national).25.7.69%.£2,828,299.00.
Category B (sectoral).29.7.24%.£2,662,194.74.
Category C (local single supplier).212.58.82%.£21,618,832.83.
Category C1 (local contract / framework including local collaboration). (Examples for Category C1, are as for 2016 / 2017, the provision of contracts for food, specialist legal services working collaboratively and e-learning working collaboratively with other Public Authorities with the addition of the provision of tax advisory services).13.1.02%.£373,967.50.
Category O (other).149.25.23%.£9,540,039.67.
Total.428.100.00%.£37,023,333.74.
Type of ContractNumber of Contracts% of Total ContractsValue of Contracts% of Total Value
Service275.64.25%.£19,064,537.13.51.49%.
Supply57.13.32%.£10,829,453.22.29.25%.
Works96.22.43%.£7,129,343.39.19.26%.
Total.428.100%.£37,023,333.74.100%.

Table 3– 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022

Contract Category AnalysisNumberPercentage of Total ValueEstimated Contract Value (£)
Category A (national).542.39%£1,002,229.10
Category B (sectoral).5810.21%£4,282,885.39
Category C (local single supplier).22263.22%£26,531,161.52
Category C1 (local contract / framework including local collaboration). (Examples for Category C1, are as for 2016 / 2017, the provision of contracts for food, specialist legal services working collaboratively and e-learning working collaboratively with other Public Authorities with the addition of the provision of tax advisory services).101.20%£503,333.29
Category O (other).15922.98%£9,643,541.36
Total.503100.00%£41,963,150.67
Type of ContractNumber of Contracts% of Total ContractsValue of Contracts% of Total Value
Service32364.21%£22,203,979.3452.91%
Supply10921.67%£4,544,836.9210.83%
Works7114.12%£15,214,334.4136.26%
Total.503100%£41,963,150.67100%

Table 4 – 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023

Contract Category AnalysisNumberPercentage of Total ValueEstimated Contract Value (£)
Category A (national).659.70%£5,477,199.06
Category B (sectoral).507.86%£4,438,800.93
Category C (local single supplier).21254.81%£36,577,955.46
Category C1 (local contract / framework including local collaboration). (Examples for Category C1, are as for 2016 / 2017, the provision of contracts for food, specialist legal services working collaboratively and e-learning working collaboratively with other Public Authorities with the addition of the provision of tax advisory services).101.51%£850,084.39
Category O (other).13516.11%£9,094,367.60
Total.472100.00%£56,438,407.43
Type of ContractNumber of Contracts% of Total ContractsValue of Contracts% of Total Value
Service31065.82%£25,980,242.6846.03%
Supply11524.36%£16,015,275.6527.38%
Works479.96%£14,442,889.1025.59%
Total.472100%£56,438,407.43100%

Table 5 – 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Contract Category AnalysisNumberPercentage of Total ValueEstimated Contract Value (£)
Category A (national).6915.33%£7,466,414.32
Category B (sectoral).5412.00%£6,556,422.98
Category C (local single supplier).20946.44%£28,591,864.28
Category C1 (local contract / framework including local collaboration). (Examples for Category C1, are as for 2016 / 2017, the provision of contracts for food, specialist legal services working collaboratively and e-learning working collaboratively with other Public Authorities with the addition of the provision of tax advisory services).214.67%£1,563,626.49
Category O (other).9721.56%£8,991,766.46
Total.450100.00%£53,170,094.52
Type of ContractNumber of Contracts% of Total ContractsValue of Contracts% of Total Value
Service30567.78%£28,455,583.6153.52%
Supply10022.22%£11,214,984.1021.09%
Works4510.00%£13,499,526.8125.39%
Total.450100%£53,170,094.52100%

Procurement Annual Spend Data

The Council is required by the Scottish Government to input its annual spend data to the Procurement Hub which records all purchasing transactions made by the Council for each financial year. The information is processed and released back to the Council for the purposes of analysis and forward planning.

The following table provides a summary of key data for the Council spend data for the past five financial years.

Table 6

2019 /2020.2020 / 2021.2021 / 2022.2022 / 2023.2023 / 2024.
Total Spend (£).£45,351,144£40,405,786.00£53,235,315.00£69,968,064£65,829,641
Core Trade Spend (£).£41,136,579£37,412,755.00£50,458,363.00£66,663,75£61,867,089
Input suppliers.2,1431,802.002,205.002,1682,211
De-duplicated Suppliers.2,103.001,764.001,998.002,1362,176
Duplicate Suppliers.4038273235
SME Suppliers.730670971794951
Local Suppliers.249217294269282
Transactions.35,29929,22634,99936,47237,963
Average Spend per supplier (£)£21,564£22,906£26,644£32,757£30,253
Percentage of SME Spend.65%.61%.62%.59%61.10%
Percentage of Local Spend.41%.38%.41%.41%40.51%
Amount of Local Spend (£)£19,334,192.00£17,583,994.00£23,715,430.61£31,331,966.00£25,365,506.49
Percentage of Core Trade Spend of Total90.70%.92.59%.94.50%.95.28%93.98%

Key to categories in Procurement Annual Spend table:

  • Total Spend – total amount of spend for the financial year.
  • Input Suppliers – number of suppliers, before de-duplication.
  • De-duplicated Total Suppliers – number of unique suppliers.
  • Duplicate Suppliers – number of suppliers which are duplicates of another supplier.
  • Transactions – total number of transactions.
  • Avg. spend per supplier – average spend per unique supplier.
  • Core Trade – sub-set of supply base that includes all Trade Suppliers and Social Care Provider with spend of £1,000 or more in the financial year.
  • SME Supplier – Small and Medium sized businesses where the supplier has less than 249 employees or where the annual revenue is less than £22.8m.
  • SME Spend – Spend with SME as a percentage of Core Trade Spend.
  • Local Suppliers – Spend with suppliers within the same local authority area as the organisation (based on Postcodes).
  • Local Spend – Spend with local suppliers as a percentage of Core Trade Spend.

Procurement Spend – National Context

The proportion of the Council’s spend on local enterprises was 41% for the reporting period 2022/23 (figures accessed in October 2024). In comparison, the proportion of procurement spend on local enterprises for all Scotland spend on local enterprises for the same period was 29.62% and for similar* councils an overall average of 35.60% spend on local enterprises.

*Orkney is part of the Local Government Benchmarking Framework Group 1 which is grouped for the above indicator with similar Councils (East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh City, Perth & Kinross, Aberdeen City and Shetland Islands).

Graph 1

IMAGE: A line graph titled “ECON04 - Proportion of Procurement Spent on Local Enterprises” compares Orkney, the Scotland average and the Family Group average from 2010-11 to 2022-23. Orkney ranges from approximately 22% to 48%, Scotland’s average rises gradually from approximately 27% to 30%, and the Family Group average ranges from approximately 33% to 38%. The graph shows Orkney at approximately 41% in 2022-23, compared with approximately 30% for Scotland and 36% for the Family Group.

Ref: Local Government Benchmarking Framework

Orkney’s procurement spend on local SMEs is 11.5 % above the ‘all Scotland’ national average of 35.6% for the 2022 to 2023 period.

Please note that the figures referred to in this section are the percentages of the Council’s spend on local Enterprises which is a different data set to the figures recorded for percentage of Enterprises Spend and percentage of Local Spend in Table 6. This information is sourced from the Local Government Benchmarking data sets and are the 2022 to 2023 figures, which are the most up to date statistics available to illustrate the national context.

Climate Change Duties

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places ‘Climate Change Duties’ (CCD) on public bodies, which require them to:

  • Contribute to national carbon emissions reduction targets.
  • Contribute to climate change adaptation.
  • To do this sustainably.

All public bodies are required to prepare reports on compliance with climate change duties for submission to the Sustainable Scotland Network at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, setting out what they are doing to fulfil their CCD. The Council has a statutory requirement to provide the above information in annual reports from reporting year 2021/22 onwards, as part of The Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Order 2020.

The Council’s annual CCD report for 2023/24 will be considered by Council in November 2024. Copies of previous CCD reports may be accessed here.

Biodiversity Duty

Section 8.2.1 of the Sustainable Procurement Policy states that the Council will meet the duty to further the conservation of biodiversity arising from the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. This will be done, where appropriate, by specifying through the procurement processes requirements that protect and enhance green spaces, habitats, species, sustainable farming practices and biodiversity both locally and globally.

Scotland’s Public Procurement Reporting Requirements for 2023-24

The Scottish Government produced a policy note SPPN 2/2023 on 4 May 2023 regarding future reporting requirement for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 reporting periods.

To date there has been no change to the reporting requirements requested by the Scottish Government.

Appendix 1 – Summary of Regulated Procurements 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Date of AwardSupplier NameSubject MatterEstimated ValueStart DateEnd Date
01/04/2023Orkney Housing AssociationCare and Repair 12 month contract£331,869.9401/04/202331/03/2024
01/04/2023VariousSocial Care Agency Staff£3,906,898.9001/04/202331/03/2024
01/04/2023Faststream RecruitmentMarine Recruitment£140,132.2001/04/202331/03/2024
05/04/2023Softcat PlcOracle Support - 3 year term£53,143.5306/04/202305/04/2026
06/04/2023Andrew Sinclair LtdA965 Finstown West Surfacing£295,627.1221/04/2023TBC
11/04/2023Harper MacleodLegal Specialist Advice - Orkney Harbour Master Plan£500,000.0005/04/202304/04/2031
18/04/2023CRC Advisory LtdBusiness Gateway Contract£395,250.0001/06/202331/05/2026
26/04/2023Mott MacdonaldOwners Engineer - Wind Energy£444,286.0002/05/202301/05/2025
02/05/2023Bill Mackie Engineering LtdReplacement Crane - Earl Sigurd£157,928.0009/05/2023Purchase
22/05/2023Alfred Flett LtdCursiter Quarry Salt Storage Facility£547,300.7006/06/2023TBC
09/06/2023Williamsons Fresh ButchersMeat and Meat Products£1,396,970.0013/06/202312/06/2028
05/07/2023Malakoff LimitedStromness Linkspan & Walkway Painting£200,233.0220/07/2023TBC
13/07/2023LandScope Engineering LtdScapa Flow South Approach Hydrographic Survey£130,000.0028/07/2023TBC
23/08/2023Action for Children Services LtdChildrens and Young People Mental Health and Wellbeing Service£64,062.0001/10/202231/03/2024
01/09/2023MetDeskWeather Forecasting Service£197,500.0001/09/202331/08/2026
01/09/2023Civica UKParis - Case Record Management system for OHAC£482,705.0001/09/202331/08/2028
05/09/2023Terberg DTS UK LtdSupply and Delivery of 2 Fire Appliances£140,428.6605/09/202331/03/2024
15/09/2023HPLaptops£194,000.0015/09/2023Purchase
09/10/2023S & D MuirPart time 20 MPH Speed Limit Signs Lot 1£394,800.0009/10/2023Purchase
10/10/2023Northwards LtdHaulage of Waste - Lot 3£60,000.0001/11/202331/102025
24/10/2023Hub North ScotlandLHEES Framework Hub North£65,124.0001/11/202301/06/2024
30/10/2023Link Treasury Services LimitedProfessional Treasury Management£60,000.0016/09/202315/09/2027
15/11/2023Verb Interactive IncorporatedBOOKIT Web Booking Interface£62,500.0015/11/202303/05/2024
15/11/2023Instock LtdCapital catering equipment for school estate£60,927.7215/11/2023Purchase
04/12/2023A M Phillip Trucktech LtdFour new pickups£204,540.0004/12/2023Purchase
08/01/2024Bill Mackie LtdEarl Sigurd Refit 2024£121,383.6008/01/202424/01/2024
02/02/2024Bill Mackie LtdMV Varagen Refit 2024£194,509.0020/02/202404/03/2024
15/01/2024Bill Mackie LtdMV Earl Thorfinn Refit 2024£170,000.0029/01/202408/02/2024
15/01/2024Robertsons OrkneyTractor and Loader£71,354.0015/01/2024Purchase
26/01/2024Park's Motor Group7 X Electric vehicle Vans£177,711.7226/01/2024Purchase
01/02/2024Scot JCB1 x 4-wheel drive telescopic handler£62,000.0001/02/2024Purchase
22/02/2024A M Phillip Trucktech LtdHook Lift Truck£150,360.0022/02/2024Purchase
26/02/2024Phoenix Software LimitedMicrosoft EA Licencing£938,000.0001/03/202428/02/2027
27/02/2024Robertsons OrkneyTractor and Loader£57,755.0027/02/2024Purchase
11/03/2024Bill Mackie LtdMV Hoy Head£230,000.0011/03/202427/03/2024
26/03/2024British Telecommunications PLCSWAN2£579,047.6201/04/202431/03/2035
29/03/2024Bill Mackie Ltd2024 Refit MV Eynhallow£90,000.0008/04/202424/04/2024

Appendix 2 – Procurement Strategy Targets/Indicators 2023 to 2028

What will success look like?

The measures below are designed to stretch us as we strive to achieve our ambitions. Despite these uncertain times, we must be bold in what we aim to achieve and not just settle for simply maintaining the current position.

21.1. Sustainability, Climate Change and Net Zero Targets

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
Number of Procurements where Community Benefit Clauses have been included in the award criteria. (To include contracts under £4,000,000 for reporting period 2024 / 2025 and beyond)703 (Contracts with a value of over £4m)
Number of Procurements for higher value contracts where climate change selection criteria have been included in the initial selection process for contracts identified as likely to impact on climate change.300
Percentage of procurements where a sustainability award criteria clause has been included. (Excluding frameworks)50%21%
Percentage of procurement spend on local enterprises – Council Plan target.45%41%
Percentage of overall spend with the Third Sector and supported businesses.10%7.3%

21.2. Working with local suppliers

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
Number of local suppliers registered with the Supplier Development Programme.806
Number of local supply base registered on the Public Contracts Scotland Advertising Portal.10080
Percentage of Council spend attributable to SMEs (currently 41%).45%41%
To review contract award procedure – to ensure that they place the minimum possible burden on suppliers.2024Ongoing

21.3. Value for Money

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
Actual spend expressed as a percentage of the contract award criteria value compared to expenditure over the value of £1,000.90%86%

21.4. Collaboration and partnering

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
Percentage of contract spend utilising Collaborative Contracts.30%2.94%

21.6. Contract Management

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
Contract Management Materials Toolkit (to include small contracts where applicable) for services to be developed.2026To be completed by July 2025
All contracts classified as high value and/or high risk to have an appropriate contract management plan in place.2026To be completed by April 2026
Exit plans in place for all appropriate contracts.2027To be completed by Dec 2026

21.7. Communication

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
To seek customer satisfaction/feedback from bidders.2026TBD
To advertise contract opportunities on the Council website.2024Ongoing

21.8. e-Procurement

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
Review of internal processes carried out to identify opportunities to integrate with other Council electronic systems.2028TBD

21.11. Training

Target/Indicator 2023 to 2028TargetActual 2023 / 2024
Sustainable Procurement and Procurement Climate Change Training to be undertaken by all Officers and Managers with Delegated Procurement Authority.2024Dec 2025
Induction for all new employees to include procurement awareness.2025TBD

Appendix 3 - Forward Plan for Regulated and Unregulated Procurements April 2024 to March 2026

Subject Matter of ContractNew / Extended / Re-letExpected Contract Notice / Publication DateExpected Award DateExpected Start DateEstimated Value of the Contract (£)Regulated / Unregulated
Climate Change ConsultancyNewFebruary 2024Summer 2024June 2024£60,000Regulated
Social Media Management ServicesRe-letFebruary 2024April 2024April 2024£360,000Regulated
PR and Media Management ServicesRe-letFebruary 2024April 2024April 2024£184,000Regulated
Nursery OperatorNew2024TBCTBCTBCRegulated
Orkney Logistics Base (Hatston)NewApril 2024TBCTBC£7,750,000Regulated
Roads Maintenance 2024-25: VariousNewApril 2024June 2024July 2024TBCUnregulated
Roads Maintenance 2024-25: Misc Bridge Repairs.NewApril 2024June 2024July 2024TBCUnregulated
Roads Maintenance 2024-25: Footways.NewApril 2024June 2024July 2024TBCUnregulated
Kirkwall Surface Water Management Plan – Modelling consultancyNewMay 2024August 2024September 2024£86,792Unregulated
Orkney.com Web ServicesRe-letMay 2024August 2024August 2024£250,000Regulated
Viking Integrated Exhibition Design & BuildNewMay 2024August 2024August 2024£264,000Regulated
Provision of Air ServicesRe-letSeptember 2024January 2025April 2025£4,747,600 (4 year contract)Regulated
Plant Hire FrameworkNewSeptember 2024November 2024November 2025£800,000 (4 year contract)Regulated
Occupational Health ServicesNewSeptember 2024November 2024December 2025£425,000 (5 year contract)Regulated
Outer North Isles Vessel Design – Ferry Replacement ProgrammeNewSeptember 2024November 2024December 2025£250,000Regulated
Integrated Waste Management StrategyNewSeptember 2024October 2024October 2024£40,000Unregulated
Dementia Post-Diagnostic Support WorkerRe-letOctober 2024December 2024February 2025£177,500 (5 year contract)Regulated
Cruise Liner Shuttle Bus ServicesRe-letOctober 2024December 2024February 2025£1,650,000 (5 year contract)Regulated
Vessel Re-fit and Repair FrameworkNewNovember 2024Various throughout 2025 to 2029Various throughout 2023 to 2027£9,271,500 (over the lifetime of the framework)Regulated
Visitor Levy Feasibility StudyNewNovember 2024.January 2025January 2025£60,000Regulated
Coastal Change Adaptation Plan - consultancyNewNovember 2024December 2024January 2025£200,000Regulated
Lightning Protection Testing and inspection.NewNovember 2024January 2025Spring 2025TBCRegulated
Weyland Bay Coastal PathNewNovember 2024December 2024January 2025£225,000Unregulated
Coastal Change Adaptation Plan - consultancyNewNovember 2024December 2024January 2025£200,000Regulated
Lightning Protection Testing and inspectionNewNovember 2024January 2025Spring 2025TBCRegulated
Weyland Bay Coastal PathNewNovember 2024December 2024January 2025£225,000Unregulated
Consultancy and Technical Services for Orkney Ferry Replacement Programme and Orkney Harbours Master Plan (Phase 2)NewNovember 2024January 2025February 2025£1,415,000Regulated
Seabed SurveyRe-letNovember 2024December 2024Spring 2025£70,000Regulated
Ballast Water SamplingRe-letDecember 2024.January 2025April 2025£195,000 (5 year contract)Regulated
Aquatic Sample Processing and Taxonomic DeterminationRe-letDecember 2024January / February 2025April 2025£186,642.50 (5 year contract)Regulated
Container Shipment of Waste to ShetlandRe-letDecember 2024February 2025April 2025£1,951,572 (5 year contract)Regulated
Misc Pier Ladder ReplacementsNewDecember 2024January 2025February 2025£175,000Unregulated
NI Linkspans Control Systems upgradesNewJanuary 2025March 2025May 2025£1,000,000Unregulated
Net Zero Living EV Infrastructure for Ferries – Eday and Kirkwall PierNewJanuary 2025March 2025April 2025£600,000Unregulated
Kirkwall Pier LightingNewJanuary 2025March 2025April 2025£250,000Unregulated
Stronsay Channel DredgeNewJanuary 2025March 2025August 2025£250,000Unregulated.
Fender Re-design ConsultancyNewJanuary 2025March 2025April 2025TBCUnregulated.
Annual Fire Fighting Equipment InspectionsRe-letJanuary 2025February 2025Feb/March 2025TBCRegulated
Eday Pier RefurbishmentNewApril 2025June 2025August 2025£400,000Unregulated
Chinglebraes Retaining WallNewApril 2025June 2025July 2025£50,0000Unregulated.
A965 Finstown DrainageNewApril 2025June 2025July 2025£250,000Unregulated
Houton Sea Wall RepairsNewApril 2025June 2025July 2025£35,000Unregulated
Student Accommodation LettingRe-letMay 2025July 2025August 2025£23,920 (5 year contract)Unregulated
Whitehall Pier RefurbishmentNewMay 2025July 2025September 2025£350,000Unregulated
Banking Services.Re-let.March 2026May 2026August 2026£22,980 (4 year contract)Unregulated
Port Marine Safety Code – Designated PersonRe-letMay 2026July 2026October 2026£67,590 (5 year contract)Regulated
Independent Mobility AssessorRe-letMay 2026July 2026October 2026£5,000 (5 year contract)Unregulated
Lift Servicing and Maintenance 2026-2031Re-letJune 2026August 2026December 2026£112,516 (5 year contract)Regulated
Kerbside Collections (Island/Island Groups)Re-letAugust 2026October 2026December 2026/January 2027VariousRegulated
Mobile Phone ContractRe-letSpring 2024Spring 2024June 2024£159,000 (2 year contract)Regulated
Islands Haulage – Various islesRe-letSpring 2024Summer 2024October 2024£400,000 (5 year contract)Unregulated
SIM and Data Package for EV ChargersRe-letSpring 2024Summer 2024Summer 2024TBCUnregulated
Dounby Visitor InfrastructureNewSpring 2024Summer 2024Winter 2024£1,000,000Unregulated
Hatston Depot. Re-roofingNewSpring 2024Spring 2024Summer 2024£300,000Unregulated
Stromness Swimming Pool Air source heat pumpNewSummer 2024Summer 2024Autumn 2024TBCUnregulated
Eday & Westray AirfieldsNewWinter 2024Winter 2024Summer 2025TBCUnregulated
Glaitness School heat pump & pool ventilationNewWinter 2024Spring 2025Summer 2025TBCUnregulated
Hatston Depot fire safety workNewWinter 2024Spring 2025Summer 2025TBCUnregulated
Orkney Library Air source heat pumpsNewWinter 2024Spring 2025Summer 2025TBCUnregulated
White Street Housing re-roofingNewWinter 2024Winter 2024Summer 2025TBCUnregulated
Cathedral & Heritage properties Architectural servicesNewWinter 2024Spring 2024Summer 2024£243,000Unregulated
Hope School boiler replacementNewWinter 2024Spring 2024Summer 2025TBCUnregulated
Kirkwall Town Hall – External Stone WorksNewSpring 2025Spring 2025Summer 2025£450,000Unregulated
Birsay Campsite amenity blockNewSummer 2025Summer 2025Autumn 2025£640,000Unregulated
Houton Ferry Terminal Car Park and MarshallingNewSummer 2025Autumn 2025TBCTBCUnregulated
Orphir School External Wall Insulation and Boiler ReplacementNew.Winter 2025Spring 2026Spring 2026£462,000Unregulated
Tankerness House external fabric repairsNewWinter 2025Winter 2025Spring 2026TBCUnregulated
Inspection and Testing of Vehicles for use as Taxi and Private Hire CarsRe-let.Spring 2026.Summer 2026Summer 2026£20,000 (5-year contract)Unregulated.
Various IT ContractsNew and Re-letVarious 2024 OngoingTBCTBCTBCRegulated / Unregulated
Cleaning Services (Waiting Rooms and Public Conveniences various mainland and island locations)Re-letVarious 2024 to 2026Various throughout 2024 to 2026Various throughout 2024 to 2026TBCUnregulated
Vehicles and Plant replacementNewVarious throughout 2024, 2025 and 2026TBCTBC£1,400,000 2025 / 2026Regulated / Unregulated
Vessel Re-fits 2024 individual contractsRe-letVarious throughout 2024 2025TBCTBCTBCRegulated
Paper and Stationery SupplyNew2024 / 2025February 2025April 2025TBCRegulated
North Isles Cycling, Walking and Safer RoutesNewTBCTBCTBCTBCUnregulated
Kirkwall to Scapa Active Travel RouteNewTBCTBCTBCTBCUnregulated
Misc Culvert PlatformsNewTBCTBCTBC£50,000Unregulated

Future Capital Projects

Subject Matter of ContractNew / Extended / Re-letExpected Contract Notice / Publication DateExpected Award DateExpected Start DateEstimated Value of the Contract (£)Regulated / Unregulated
Additional Support Needs FacilityNewSubject to Council approval to proceedTBCTBCTBCTBC
Scapa Deep Water QuayNewSubject to Council approval to proceedTBCTBCTBCRegulated
Orkney Logistics Base HatstonNewSubject to Council approval to proceed.TBCTBCTBCRegulated
Orkney Harbours Master Plan – Lyness BaseNewSubject to Council approval to proceedTBCTBCTBCRegulated
Royal Oak MemorialNewSubject to external funding being securedTBCTBCTBCUnregulated
Construction of Balance of Plant Orkney Community Wind FarmNewSubject to Council approval to proceedTBCTBCTBCRegulated
Ferry Replacement New VesselsNewSubject to Council approval to proceed and external funding being secured.TBCTBCTBCRegulated
A961 Road RealignmentNewSubject to Council approval to proceedMarch 2025May 2025£2,000,000Unregulated
Orkney Community Wind Farms – Turbine Supply Agreement & Full Service AgreementNewSubject to Council approval to proceedTBCTBC£90,000,000Regulated