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Office commissions survey on social clauses

A survey on social clauses in public procurement contracts is being undertaken by the North East Regional Centre of Excellence (NERCE), on behalf of the Office of the Third Sector. The survey will seek views on the use of social clauses, their benefits and barriers to their use.

Social clauses in public contracts prioritise social needs in the procurement process – for instance, the need to train or give jobs to the long–term unemployed in the local community.

The Office of the Third Sector commissioned the project to learn more about the appropriate use of social clauses and spread good practice. The questionnaire aims to gather experiences, views and knowledge from a range of perspectives. Responses will support work on creating model template clauses.

Both locally and nationally, commissioners are best placed to decide how to factor broader social aspects into funding arrangements. However, they can face difficulties tackling complex social clauses in isolation.

The Office of the Third Sector and NERCE will consult stakeholders on how to overcome barriers to the use of social clauses, and work with those commissioners pioneering the use of social clauses to learn about their experiences and draw together examples of leading practices.

The project was a common action in the Office of the Third Sector's plans for  social enterprise and  public services in late 2006.

The project is being steered by a project board made up of representatives from the Office of the Third Sector, NERCE, the Office of Government Commerce, the Department for Communities and Local Government, HM Treasury, the Local Government Association, the Social Enterprise Coalition, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA).

Queries about the project should be directed to NERCE Enquiries[External website]. The survey closed on 30 September 2007.