Commentary on Sections General duties Section 11 – Supported businesses
24.Section 11 permits a contracting authority to seek offers from supported businesses only, notwithstanding the general duties under section 8. This means that if a bidder does not meet the definition of a supported business, it can be precluded from participating in a competition on that basis alone. This does not mean that a contract can be awarded directly to a particular supported business (i.e. without competition), but rather that the competition will be amongst supported businesses only. The general duties will still apply to the procurement competition that is run amongst supported businesses.
25.Section 11(3) provides the definition of a supported business, for the purposes of this Act. A supported business is an economic operator who operates a supported business, supported employment programme or supported factory within the meaning of regulation 7 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012(3).