Scottish government says firms may be denied public sector work under plan to assess bidders鈥� records on a case-by-case basis
The Scottish government has detailed plans to withhold public sector contracts from construction firms involved in blacklisting who remain unrepentant.
好色先生TV revealed in May that the Scottish government had invited trade unions to advise it on ensuring public procurement north of the border was untainted by blacklisting following similar moves by around two dozen local authorities around the UK.
Now, officials have ruled out an automatic ban on firms involved in past blacklisting but have suggested companies bidding for work will be assessed on a 鈥渃ase-by-case鈥� basis.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: 鈥淲e are totally opposed to blacklisting鈥e expect companies which are awarded public contracts to maintain high standards of business and professional conduct.
鈥淕iven the seriousness of this matter and the impact it has had on peoples鈥� lives we are looking to amend our procurement processes to identify any firms wishing to bid for public contracts that have been involved in blacklisting activity and where identified, what remedial action they have taken.
鈥淭he company鈥檚 continued participation in the competition will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and there can be no automatic ban. With this in mind we are working closely with unions with a view to developing guidelines for purchasers on the issue of blacklisting by potential suppliers and these discussions are on-going.鈥�
The spokesperson added: 鈥淲e are not aware of any evidence to suggest that blacklisting has been used in connection with any contracts awarded by the Scottish Government or its agencies.鈥�
However, some lawyers have cast doubt on the plans.
Michael McAuley, a partner at Dundas & Wilson, told the Scotland on Sunday newspaper that blocking bids from firms for public sector contracts would be fraught with difficulty and subject to legal challenges.
He said that under public procurement tendering laws, state bodies are only allowed to exclude a company where there is evidence of 鈥榞rave misconduct鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 likely that blacklisting, if proved, could constitute grave misconduct, but that can only be done on the basis of individual companies,鈥� he told the paper. 鈥淭he major issue would be establishing to what extent a company was involved.鈥�
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