13 January 2010
As part of CGCoPE's review of quick-wins, it was suggested that procurement colleagues may benefit from advice on how to dispose of assets.
The Scottish Government Finance Directorate have published procedures that apply to core Scottish Government, Executive Agencies and all other organisations to which the Scottish Public Finance Manual is directly applicable.
Section 15
Section 15 of the procedures deals directly with the disposal of plant and equipment assets - the area that procurement staff are most likely to be involved in. It states:
"Other plant and equipment assets which are surplus to requirements should normally be sold by public auction or tender. Payment should normally be required to be made before goods are released for collection or delivery. The law implies that any goods sold are of merchantable quality and fit for the purpose for which they are sold. If there is any reason to believe that goods are faulty or sub standard, it should be made clear that they are sold "as seen" and without any implied warranties as to quality or fitness."
Disposal Services Authority
If your organisation does not have the skills or resources to carry out a public auction or tender to dispose of the surplus assets, you may wish to engage the services of the Disposal Services Authority (DSA)
The DSA can be used by Scottish central government organisations without further competition, however you will be required to sign a Customer Supplier Agreement (CSA), and an annual fee for their services will be payable. The fee entitles you to unlimited declarations per year for assets, however an additional charge would be incurred for the disposal of waste.
For example, suppliers appointed by the DSA, are able to handle the disposal of:
Find out more about Scottish Government Disposal Procedures