Europeans learn from Scots procurement example

Experts from countries including Denmark, France, Lithuania and Poland have attended a seminar in Midlothian to learn more about the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) approach to procurement.

The SFT's Peter Reekie said he was proud of collaborative approach

The SFT was set up with the aim of saving taxpayer cash by making infrastructure investment more efficient, and director of investment Peter Reekie welcomed the “very strong” level of interest from Europe in how the body operates in Scotland.

“Through our community hub programme there are excellent examples of how Scotland’s 32 local authorities, health boards and various public bodies are working together to deliver better services and save the taxpayer money,” said Reekie, who is also deputy chief executive of the SFT.

“We are proud of this collaborative approach between public bodies and a ‘hubco’ delivery partner and many European colleagues commented that there was a lot to learn from the Scottish approach.”

The seminar was held at the Lasswade Centre, a pilot project that saw the SFT and East Renfrewshire and Midlothian councils collaborate in a £65 million initiative to procure schools in both local authority areas, delivering a £4m saving for the public purse.