As it gears up to procure harvesting, extraction and chainsaw services for a new round of contracts,  Forestry and Land Scotland is surveying forestry contractors to help it scope out the range and capacity of the sector.

The organisation has published a Prior Information Notice (PIN) to help it gain a clear picture and detailed understanding of the size, scope, capacity, and future aspirations of the marketplace, as well as identifying fresh approaches, or innovations.

The move comes as the organisation’s current suite of contracts and frameworks near their end and it begins to assess potential options and opportunities for procuring services to deliver the felling and extraction of timber and by-products.

Doug Knox, FLS’ Head of Technical Services Group, said;

“In order for us to operate effectively and efficiently we make use of external contractors to help us meet our objectives.

“Finding out now – both from existing and potential suppliers – about the services they can offer, their capacity, preferred work locations, preferred pricing mechanisms and so on will help us to better plan our future operations.

“The more information we have the better, so we would encourage anyone who has the skills and offers the services we need to take part.”

The PIN is for information gathering purposes only and is not a call for competition or a contract. Not responding to the PIN will NOT disadvantage suppliers who bid for contracts as they are published.

It is anticipated that the new tender will be published in mid-late summer with contracts awarded in January 2022.

The PIN notice has been published on Public Contract Scotland (PCS). Anyone who is not registered on PCS but who would like to respond to the PIN can get more information online.  

Help for suppliers with public sector tendering is available through the Scottish Government`s Supplier Journey and the Supplier Development Programme.

Notes to editors

1. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Ministers in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry; conserves and enhances the environment; delivers benefits for people and nature; and supports Scottish Ministers in their stewardship of Scotland's national forests and land.

2. forestryandland.gov.scot | twitter.com/ForestryLS

3. Media enquiries to Paul Munro, Media Manager, Forestry and Land Scotland Media Office 07785 527590 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.