An independent review which looked at how Scotland's public sector procures construction work, has called for spending to be harnessed in order to bolster the country's economy.

Undertaken by Robin Crawford and Ken Lewandowski, the 'Review of Procurement in Construction', was published on Tuesday.

It focused on how public bodies involved in construction-related procurement, adopt practices that are streamlined and deliver value for taxpayers' money.

The findings also suggest that the total annual public sector spend on construction is £4bn.

Recommendations contained within the report include:

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• Greater leadership of construction procurement
• Improved construction skills across the public sector
• Design to be at the heart of construction procurement.

Speaking at the National Procurement Conference, Mr Crawford, Chair of the review, said: "Our vision is of an approach which achieves better collaboration in design led procurement, which achieves value for money for the public sector but which also recognises that the construction sector is a vitally important part of the Scottish economy.

"Much of the procurement undertaken by the public sector is conducted by capable people, but good practice is not uniform across the entire public sector, and we see many opportunities for others to learn from this best practice."

Mr Lewandowski, Deputy Chair of the Review, added: "Responsibility for the reform agenda does not rest solely with the public sector, and so some of our recommendations are addressed to the many companies and firms working for public authorities.

The construction industry is characterised by contentious behaviours, and must itself end practices which can hurt small firms such as extended payment terms and retention abuse."

(JP/CD)