Brexit
The full impact of Brexit on the local government sector is still largely unknown . Examples cited by COSLA include loss of EU funding for local initiatives , a reduction in the number of EU nationals working in key service areas such as education and social care , and implications for local businesses which export to Europe .
In March 2018 , the UK Government announced that public procurement was one of 24 areas expected to require a UK legislative approach for a temporary period . While discussions are still ongoing with devolved governments , this could have implications across the Scottish public sector where procurement duties go beyond the obligations required by EU directives .
Regardless of the legislative position , the cost of procuring goods may rise , particularly where products or their raw materials are imported from the EU and / or are vulnerable to currency or market fluctuations . Since the announcement of the UK ’ s departure from the EU in 2016 , Scotland Excel has mitigated a number of price increase requests relating to the Brexit vote .
Our strategy
The challenges facing the local government sector require the continuous development of new and innovative solutions . We believe we have demonstrated our ability to support many of these challenges , both directly through savings , efficiencies and increased commercial capability , and indirectly by embedding national and local policies within our procurement strategies .
This corporate strategy sets out how we plan to raise our game further , providing even greater support to councils and other public sector stakeholders , while ensuring our own organisation ’ s long term sustainability and growth . As always , our strategy has been developed in consultation with our member councils , and the operating plans which support it will be published annually to ensure our focus remains relevant to their needs .
This strategy looks forward over a period of five years to support a longer term view of our goals and objectives and enable us to plan accordingly . It will be reviewed at the end of the third year and , if required , updated to reflect any new priorities or significant changes in our macro-environment .
12 | Shared Vision , Shared Success . Our Corporate Strategy 2018 – 2023