Scottish Government plans to double procurement thresholds from April 2027
Lower-value public contracts would fall outside the stricter legal rules, under a statutory instrument that needs Holyrood's approval.
Public bodies in Scotland would be able to award more lower-value contracts under less formal procedures from next spring, according to plans published by the Scottish Government on Saturday.
The threshold for goods and services would rise from £50,000 to £100,000, and the one for works from £2m to £4m. Both figures come from the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and have not changed since then. Ministers argue that inflation has steadily pulled more contracts into the stricter legal rules as a result.
How the change gets through
The new figures would come in through an affirmative Scottish Statutory Instrument. Under that procedure the measure has to be approved by Parliament rather than simply laid before it, so the 1 April 2027 start date depends on the vote.
The proposal follows a consultation with businesses, public bodies, third sector organisations and procurement professionals. The Scottish Government says it will create more openings for local businesses, small firms and third sector groups, and the Supplier Development Programme has welcomed the plan on the grounds that tendering would become less of an administrative burden.
A separate set of thresholds is not part of this. Those sit in the Public Contracts, Utilities Contracts and Concession Contracts regulations and are revised every two years to stay in line with values under the World Trade Organisation's Government Procurement Agreement.
