Scotland has finalised how cross‑border public buying will work from Saturday 20 December 2025, setting clear rules for joint and framework procurements that straddle the border. The Cross‑Border Public Procurement (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 were made in early December and switch on just before Christmas. For Northern suppliers and public bodies that trade regularly with Scotland, this closes a grey area left by the UK’s Procurement Act.

In plain terms, if a UK contracting authority takes part in a Scottish‑run procedure - for example a joint competition with a Scottish public body or a call‑off awarded by a central purchasing body in Scotland - the Scottish procurement rules apply to that award without tweaks. Where the award is made off a Scottish framework or dynamic market, only specified parts of the Scottish rules apply and some are expressly modified.

There’s also a flip side. When a Scottish authority buys under a UK‑run arrangement - a Crown Commercial Service framework, a NEPO or YPO deal, or any other “reserved procurement arrangement” under the Procurement Act - parts of Scotland’s own regime are switched off for that purchase. The Act lists which provisions are disapplied, including general duties, the sustainable procurement duty and certain guidance requirements.

Why this matters north of the Tyne and along the M6 is simple: a lot of day‑to‑day trade with Scottish public bodies is already channelled through frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems. The new rules should mean fewer arguments over whose paperwork and publication rules to follow, and a clearer run for SMEs in Cumbria, the North East and Lancashire that want to sell into Scottish‑led call‑offs.

For buyers and bidders, the fine print sits in new schedules added to the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and the Utilities and Concession regulations. These tables spell out which Scottish provisions apply to cross‑border call‑offs and which do not - for example, some open‑procedure steps and several DPS provisions are switched off or trimmed when a UK authority is awarding under a Scottish arrangement.

The rules hinge on definitions in section 114 of the UK Procurement Act 2023. A “devolved Scottish procurement arrangement” covers frameworks, dynamic markets and procedures led jointly or by a Scottish central purchasing body. If that’s your route to market, expect the Scottish rules to feature - albeit with the targeted modifications set out in the schedules.

Timing‑wise, this lands after the UK’s Procurement Act went live on 24 February 2025, meaning English, Welsh and Northern Irish authorities are already running the new regime. From 20 December, the cross‑border join with Scotland is tidied up, and notice publishing will continue to reference the UK e‑notification service (Find a Tender) where required under the instrument.

Practical takeaway for Northern SMEs and contracting teams: check live and upcoming call‑offs that use Scottish frameworks or dynamic markets, refresh internal compliance checklists against the instrument’s schedules, and make sure portal settings and templates line up with the correct rulebook. If you’re a Scottish customer buying via a UK framework, factor in that Scotland’s sustainable procurement duty and some community benefit guidance do not apply to that particular purchase under the new cross‑border rules.

One eye on January: separate threshold changes for Scottish procurement take effect on 1 January 2026. Those are set by a different set of regulations and sit alongside the cross‑border changes. Suppliers planning framework refreshes in Q1 should sanity‑check values and publishing thresholds accordingly.

Formally, the cross‑border instrument was taken through Holyrood on an affirmative basis, with the Economy and Fair Work Committee recommending approval before it was made this month. That process clears the way for the 20 December start date.