# Awarding Public Contracts Skilfully and Lawfully within the Scottish Procurement Rules

> Court-Proven, Solution-Focused Answers to 7 Thorny Questions: Directly from Top-Flight Policy Makers, Lawyers and Industry Experts

- Format: In-person
- Date: Wednesday, 3 June 2026, 10:00AM to 4:00PM (registration from 9:30AM)
- Venue: The Caledonian Hotel, Princes St, Edinburgh, EH1 2AB
- 5 hours CPD
- Rates: Live Attendance £299.00 + VAT per person
- Status: This conference has taken place
- Book: https://whitepaper.co.uk/conferences/procscotland26

## Programme

- 09:30 Registration and coffee
- 10:00 Scottish & UK procurement regimes: How do Scottish contracting authorities remain compliant when operating under different procurement regimes across the UK - particularly when calling off UK-wide frameworks?
  - Answered by Duncan Osler, Morton Fraser MacRoberts
- 10:15 Levelling the playing field: How do you level the playing field, specify correctly and assess tenders objectively when the incumbent has a favourable position or in-built advantage?
  - Answered by Euan Murray, Shepherd & Wedderburn
- 10:55 Poor Performance: What level of poor performance would have to be demonstrated before you can exclude a tenderer? How would you evidence it, and could you look into other contracts?
  - Answered by Elaine McLean, Pinsent Masons
- 11:35 Morning Coffee
- 11:55 Community benefits: Are contracting authorities too risk averse when pursuing opportunities for local suppliers and community benefits? How do you balance local objectives with the rules and achieve your aim?
  - Answered by Charles Livingstone, Brodies
- 12:35 AI and Bids: With AI increasingly acting as a bid writer, how do you develop questions that genuinely test organisations and should you rely on interviews more than written submissions?
  - Answered by David Hansom, Hogan Lovells
- 13:15 Lunch
- 14:00 Abnormally low: What are you to do - lawfully and proportionately - when a tender is abnormally low, and how far can you go in asking the tenderer to reassure you otherwise, supported by practical examples?
  - Answered by Ruth McNaught, Burness Paull
- 14:40 Negotiation with suppliers: How far can you push the line when negotiating with tenderers under the Scottish Regs., including preliminary market engagement, clarifications and post-tender discussions?
  - Answered by Robin Fallas, Morton Fraser MacRoberts
- 15:20 Overrun
- 16:00 Close of conference

## How to book

Choose a rate on the [conference page](https://whitepaper.co.uk/conferences/procscotland26) and press Book Now. Checkout asks for the booking contact and company address, then each delegate's name and email, then payment: Credit/Debit Card, or Bank Transfer/Cheque to be sent an invoice. Bookings are subject to the [booking policy](https://whitepaper.co.uk/booking-policy).