Social Issues

In March 2007 the UK Government's Sustainable Procurement Action Plan set out the key commitments on sustainability including social issues.

The 2004 Procurement Directives determined the scope to take social issues into account at relevant stages of the procurement process. Contracting authorities also need to ensure that they consider and meet legal requirements and obligations pertaining to equality and their associated duties.

Our policies on social issues in procurement define the approach to incorporating social issues into your approaches within the boundaries of the EU Procurement Directives and UK regulations:

• Our Policy on Social Issues (PDF, 40KB)
• Our Policy on Equality (PDF, 36KB)
• Our Policy on Fair Trade (PDF, 85KB)
• Our Policy on Access to Skills (PDF, 117KB)
• Our Policy on Supported Factories and Businesses (PDF, 97KB)

The following supporting guidance and templates will provide you with further help in incorporating social considerations into your procurement approaches:

• Promoting Skills through Public Procurement (PDF, 2.2MB)
• Make Equality Count (PDF, 2MB)
• Buy and Make a Difference (Social Issues in Public Procurement) (PDF, 1013KB)
• Social Issues in Purchasing (PDF, 586KB)
• Guidance on Supported Businesses and Factories January 2009 (PDF, 1.6MB)
• Guidance on Skills (PDF, 791KB)
• Fair Trade Guidance (PDF, 263KB)
• Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (Above Threshold) 

• Think Smart. Think Voluntary (PDF, 167KB)

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If you are looking for a specific document or guidance on a specific topic you can use the search engine at the top of this page. For further information or guidance please contact the OGC Service Desk on 0845 0004999.