Our Procurement Policy directly supports delivery of National Galleries of Scotland’s corporate priority to develop a sustainable and efficient business model to support our aims and ensure long-term viability.

Procurement information for suppliers

In addition to the policy and principles for procurement, the following information is provided for existing or potential suppliers to the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).

We are committed to ensuring a fair, transparent and competitive approach to awarding contracts.  In support of this, NGS has signed up to the Scottish Government's Suppliers' Charter, which establishes ground rules for engaging and interacting with suppliers in order to facilitate access to public sector procurement opportunities.

NGS applies a proportionate approach to tendering, based on the whole life value of the good, work or service to be procured and in line with Scottish Government and EU guidelines.  The important thresholds to note are:

Whole Life Value of Good/ Work/ Service (exc VAT)	Tender Requirements
Under £5,000	At least three quotes should be obtained where possible. Quotes are to be received in writing through email. Expenditure is at the budget holder’s discretion; but they must still consider the Procurement Policy Principles.
Between £5,000 and £50,000 for goods, services and small works contracts. Between £5,000 to £2M for capital project major works contracts.	The Quick Quote portal of Public Contracts Scotland website must be used for a tender competition, following a formal, sealed-bid process. Tender requirements must be proportionate to the value of the contract. A minimum of three Suppliers should be invited to tender however, a selection of four to five Suppliers should be made when possible.
Over £50,000 for goods, services and small works contracts. Over £2M for capital project major works contracts.	The Contract opportunity must be advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland website. The procurement process must be compliant with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. As a standard of best practice, a European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) will be included as a requirement of the tender competition. Note: the regulation threshold for works contracts is in fact £2M. Despite this NGS wish all small work contracts valued £50K+ & unrelated to capital projects, to follow the procedures of a regulated process. Community benefit clauses are to be included in all works contracts valued £4M+.
Over £122,976 for services and supplies OR £4,733,252 for all works*	Must be advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland website. The website will automatically generate a notice on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). An EC regulated tendering process must be completed. Inclusion of a European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) is mandatory

* EC Threshold values from 1 January 2018 for Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Get full details of the EU thresholds.

For information on the tendering and bidding processes, suppliers may wish to consult the Scottish Government's Supplier Journey guide.

Suppliers are encouraged to register with the Public Contracts Scotland website, which provides free access to contract opportunities within Scotland.  NGS and other public sector bodies are required to advertise contracts worth over £50k on this site and registered suppliers can browse the notices posted.  For lower value contracts, the Quick Quote facility allows public bodies to carry out a tendering exercise amongst registered suppliers, without the need to conduct a separate search for potential bidders.  It provides the structure for sealed-bid tenders and can be used for contracts up to the value of £50k.

The standard terms and conditions used by NGS for different types of contract can be accessed below.

There are circumstances under which we will be required to disclose information that we hold relating to suppliers and procurement activities.  All previous, existing and potential suppliers and contractors should note that NGS is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 which provides a general right of access by any person to information that is held by us.  This means that we may be required to release tender documents, contracts, correspondence etc if requested.  We are also participating in the Audit Commission's National Fraud Initiative which requires us to provide suppliers' details to be matched to data held by other public sector organisations, for the prevention and detection of fraud.

Procurement terms and conditions

Fraud prevention: Suppliers' data

National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) is required by law to protect the public funds it administers. It may share information provided to it with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.

On behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland, Audit Scotland appoints the auditor for NGS’ accounts. It is also responsible for carrying out data matching exercises.

Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information. Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified but the inclusion of personal data within a data matching exercise does not mean that any specific individual is under suspicion. Where a match is found it indicates that there may be an inconsistency that requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out. The exercise can also help bodies to ensure that their records are up to date.

Audit Scotland currently requires us to participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to Audit Scotland for matching for each exercise, and these are set out in Audit Scotland’s instructions, which can be found at: http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/our-work/national-fraud-initiative

The use of data by Audit Scotland in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority, normally under its powers in Part 2A of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Data matching by Audit Scotland is subject to a Code of Practice. This may also be found at: http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/our-work/national-fraud-initiative

For further information on Audit Scotland’s legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information, see the full text privacy notice at: http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/our-work/national-fraud-initiative.