West College Scotland (WCS) was created on 1st August 2013 as a result of the merger of Clydebank College, Reid Kerr College and the Inverclyde campuses of James Watt College. WCS is the largest college in Scotland with a turnover of around £67 million and a student population in excess of 20,000. We deliver learning and vocational training to the West Region of Scotland, a catchment area of 1.2 million people, representing 23% of the resident population of Scotland.
West College Scotland procures a wide range of goods, services and works. The Procurement Team within the College works to ensure all West College Scotland procurements are economically advantageous; robust; transparent and equitable to all suppliers and contractors. Our vision is to be “recognised as a leading public sector procurement body, working collaboratively to support the local economy”.
All requirements over £25,000 (including VAT) are advertised on the national advertising portal, (Public Contracts Scotland) and we strongly recommend you register with the site which is free of charge as this will give you access to all Public Sector tendering opportunities. It’s important you enter as much information as accurately as possible so you are notified when appropriate tenders are published. For example, if you specialise in electrical services please ensure you state this so that if any electrical related needs arise you will be notified. You should also remember to update your contact details, such as email address, if they change. Please ensure you register for the business categories appropriate to your organisations core activity.
What is a contract?
A contract is a formal agreement between West College Scotland and any third party supplier of goods, services or works. The nature of the contract is dependent on the level of spend and the duration of the contract i.e. the total estimated spend over the lifetime of the procurement.
Why does West College Scotland use contracts?
All Public Bodies are legally bound to put contracts in place where appropriate, to secure best value by making sure that not only are the items fit for purpose and the prices reasonable, but also that suppliers have relevant levels of insurance; financial stability; and Health and Safety policies. This protects the interests of all stakeholders of West College Scotland.
How does the College procure low value requirements?
Quotes are obtained though the Public Contracts Scotland Quick Quote facility. Suppliers are selected from those registered under that category; therefore, you have to be registered on the Public Contracts Scotland website. Please provide as much information as possible about your company and ensure to check the categories of work you are interested in.
Does the College use electronic tendering?
Electronic tendering is a way of completing tender documents online rather than filling out Word documents and sending them via PCS. The College is moving towards implementing electronic tendering. Tenders can be accessed via PCS or the separate system PCS-Tender. This can be accessed on PCS Tender.
Procurement policy
It is important to keep abreast of legal and regulatory changes to procurement in Scotland. The Scottish Government publishes the Scottish Procurement Policy Notes (SPPN) on an ad-hoc basis to provide advice on current policy issues.
WCS Annual Procurement Reports
The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 Section 18 States that the public bodies must prepare an annual procurement report on its regulated procurement activities as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the financial year.
This report includes:
a summary of the regulated procurements that have been completed during the year covered by the report,
- a review of whether those procurements complied with the authority's procurement strategy,
- a summary of any community benefit requirements imposed as part of a regulated procurement that were fulfilled during the year covered by the report,
- a summary of any steps taken to facilitate the involvement of supported businesses in regulated procurements during the year covered by the report and
- a summary of the regulated procurements the authority expects to commence in the next two financial years.
WCS Annual Procurement Report and Strategy Update for 1st August 2019 until 31st July 2020*
WCS Annual Procurement Report 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022
WCS Annual Procurement Report 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023
WCS Procurement Strategy
All contracting authorities with an annual regulated procurement spend over or equal to £5million are required to produce and publish an organisational procurement strategy under section 15 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
The WCS Procurement Strategy has been written based on the legislative requirements of the above act and other relevant legislation. It is aligned with the College’s Regional Outcome Agreement 2014/17 and Corporate Plan and with the Scottish Funding Council’s key strategic outcomes.
Through working together with staff and collaboration with key partners across the wider education and public sector, it is expected that the Procurement Strategy will contribute to the future sustainability of the College. This will be achieved through the reinvestment of resulting savings and efficiencies from procurement activities to enhance our students learning experiences and outcomes as well as meeting the College’s strategic objectives / priorities.
Contracts Register
West College Scotland maintains a register of contracts in line with the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. The register can be accessed via the link below:
West College Scotland Contracts Register
Safeguarding public funds
Please note: We follow National Fraud Initiative guidelines to protect against fraud and safeguard public funds.
As part of West College Scotland’s fraud strategy, we take part in the biennial National Fraud Initiative (NFI). The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) in Scotland is a counter-fraud exercise led by Audit Scotland and overseen by the Public Sector Fraud Authority for the UK. It uses computerised techniques to compare information about individuals held by different public bodies, and on different financial systems that might suggest the existence of fraud or error. It means that public bodies can act if any fraud or error has taken place, and it allows auditors to assess fraud prevention arrangements that those bodies have.
Monitoring our procurement performance
The West College Procurement Team is assessed every two years by the Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) against criteria as set out in the Scottish Governments Procurement Capability Improvement Plan (PCIP) to check that procurement practices across the colleges is conducted in line with the required standards embedded in the PCIP. This allows the College to identify where best practice exists, where there are gaps and where improvements and efficiencies can be implemented. We are always keen to develop our services and would encourage feedback from our suppliers and contractors and stakeholders in general as to how we can continually improve our service delivery to our customers and stakeholders on behalf of West College Scotland.
Reporting procurement and contract fraud
The Director of Finance is responsible for carrying out investigations of any suspected frauds in line with the Colleges Fraud and Corruption Policy.
The procurement process is dictated by a number of factors such as the commodity being purchased and the total estimated spend . The process of procurement is governed by The Public Contracts (Scotland) Procurement Regulations.
- The service department identifies a need and ensures budget is available.
- A scoping document and specification is developed and an Invitation to Quote/Tender is created.
- Requirements are advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland website.
- Tenders are received from interested suppliers.
- Tender responses are evaluated against the stated criteria.
- Contract award is made in line with Public Contracts Scotland using PCS.
- Award letters / unsuccessful letters are sent to supplier(s).
- Award notice is published on Public Contracts Scotland.
A more detailed explanation about the Procurement process called the ‘Supplier Journey’ can be found on the Scottish Government website along with further information on working with Public Bodies.
How to tender (apply) for opportunities
All West College Scotland tendering opportunities over £25,000 including VAT are advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) website. The website is used by all public bodies in Scotland and is free to use. We strongly recommend you register with PCS to receive notifications when requirements are posted there.
It is very important that you provide accurate and detailed information when registering and that you update your details if they change. This ensures you receive notification when a relevant opportunity arises. The PCS website provides guidance documents on this.
The West College Scotland opportunities currently being advertised on Public Contracts Scotland can be viewed below.
General Data Processing Regulation (GDPR)
As part of West College Scotland’s commitment to GDPR compliance, the College will ensure that all third party suppliers approach the GDPR in a vigorous and compliant manner in the management and security of personal data.
These requirements take the relevant data protection legislation into account, including but not limited to:
- Data Protection Act 2018;
- Regulation 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
- Privacy and Electronic Communication (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (SI2003/2426)
Where data is to be processed on behalf of the College, Article 28 of the GDPR stipulates that a contract or data sharing agreement must be in place to ensure that appropriate technical and security measures are in place. If you require templates for such an agreement, please contact procurement@wcs.ac.uk
Sustainable Procurement
West College Scotland is committed to carrying out procurement activities in an environmentally, socially, ethically and economically responsible manner and to entering into agreements and contracts with suppliers that share and adhere to its vision.
As part of our tender process for local contracts at the College and through procuring from framework agreements implemented by Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC), Procurement helps deliver the College’s environmental and sustainability commitments by identifying suppliers and sub-contractors that share the College’s values by signing up to APUC’s Supply Chain Code of Conduct.
The APUC Supply Chain Code of Conduct can be found here