Scotland has signed off new cross-border procurement rules to sit alongside the UK-wide Procurement Act 2023. The Cross-Border Public Procurement (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 (SSI 2025/392) were made on 3 December 2025 and take effect on 20 December 2025, following approval by the Scottish Parliament. As set out on legislation.gov.uk, the aim is to clarify when devolved Scottish procurement law applies to UK contracting authorities using Scottish routes to market, and when it is switched off in favour of the 2023 Act.

For suppliers, especially SMEs bidding into Scottish-run frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems, the shift is practical. From 20 December, a bid into a Scottish arrangement used by an authority elsewhere in the UK may be evaluated under Scottish rules in some circumstances, while in other cross-border cases the devolved provisions will not apply. The instrument was signed by Ivan McKee, authorised by the Scottish Ministers, on 3 December 2025, according to the official notice on legislation.gov.uk.

Public sector buying under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 gains two new gateway provisions, regulations 3A and 3B. Where a UK contracting authority runs a procurement under a devolved Scottish procurement arrangement and the award follows a joint procedure or work by a central purchasing body, the Scottish regulations apply without modification. Where the award is via a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system, selected parts of the Scottish rulebook apply and some are modified; these are listed in a new schedule that also flags the thresholds provision.

Utilities are treated in parallel through amendments to the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016. New regulations 3A and 3B, supported by two schedules, set out when Scottish utilities rules apply outright and when only specified provisions apply for awards via a framework or a dynamic market system. The schedule also alters how regulation 17 operates in these cases: several paragraphs do not apply and references to a buyer profile are removed, cutting overlap where a central vehicle is already publishing data.

Concession contracts follow the same logic. A new regulation 7A in the Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 confirms that when a UK contracting authority uses a devolved Scottish arrangement and the award flows from a joint process or a central purchasing body, the Scottish concession rules apply without modification. This creates a consistent treatment across public, utilities and concession regimes.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 is adjusted to fit the new cross-border map. A new section 3A lists which parts of the 2014 Act do not apply when a procurement is carried out under a reserved UK arrangement, a devolved Welsh arrangement or a transferred Northern Ireland arrangement, with the exclusions set out in a new schedule. Section 41 is updated to reference section 115A of the Procurement Act 2023, and the existing schedule becomes schedule 1.

In practice, the first question for suppliers is which rulebook governs disclosure, exclusion grounds and standstill in a cross-border call-off. If a central purchasing body runs the selection process, assume the Scottish regulations apply as written. If the award is made under a framework or DPS, expect a subset of provisions and check any modifications in the schedules, especially those touching thresholds, publication mechanics and time limits.

Here is a working example. An English local authority uses a Glasgow-run digital services DPS to run a mini-competition for cloud support. Under these regulations, the call-off may be governed by the Scottish public contracts rules listed in the new schedule because the route to market is a devolved Scottish arrangement. Suppliers should align declarations to Scottish terminology and ensure prior experience and exclusion statements fit the Scottish format.

Timing matters for live opportunities. Procurements launched on or after 20 December 2025 will sit under this structure; competitions already underway should follow the rulebook cited in their documents, but buyers may update guidance notes as the effective date approaches. For pipeline planning, review which frameworks or DPSs you rely on for Scottish public sector work, refresh compliance statements to reflect Scottish definitions of contracting authority and central purchasing body, and double-check assumptions about buyer profile notices in utilities.

Market Pulse UK’s view is that this is careful plumbing between the Procurement Act 2023 and devolved Scottish law. The benefit is certainty for cross-border awards. The near-term task for bid teams is administrative-map cross-border routes to market, update standard templates to Scottish wording where needed, and keep an eye on any operational guidance that accompanies the instrument on legislation.gov.uk as 20 December approaches.