The EC Procurement Directives, which are implemented into UK legislation by means of Statutory Instruments (SI), establish detailed procedural rules which must be observed when a NHSScotland body is involved in a PPP project. The most important public sector Procurement Directive is Directive 2004/18, implemented in Scotland under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations (SI 2006 No 1). It is these Regulations which must be observed by an NHSScotland body in the context of a PPP procurement.
For most NHS procurements, the NHSScotland body will not need to refer to the EC Directives unless there is uncertainty over the interpretation of the Scottish public procurement regulations.
NHS bodies should take their own legal advice during the procurement process and must leave a clear audit trail at all relevant stages.