Dear all

OGC (the Office for Government Commerce) is the UK department
responsible for taking the recent European Procurement Directives and
incorporating them into UK law and practice. The Directives are not
mentioned in this consultation, and work appears to have started on
describing social issues in procurement before the Directives were
imposed. I admit that I haven't yet read this consultation, but I will
be looking for anything to do with accessibility in procurement,
although the concept of accessibility as a social issue is arguable.

Those of you in the UK public sector may feel moved to respond - the
closing date is 24 June.
Best wishes
Ruth

-----Original Message-----
From: ServiceDesk [mailto:ServiceDesk@...]
Sent: 06 June 2005 11:27
Subject: OGC/Sustainable Procurement Group note: Social Issues in
Purchasing - final consultation (eo)

Dear All,
Following the consultation that took place earlier this year on the
note,
Social Issues in Purchasing, I attach below the final draft for comment.
The
decision to undertake a final round of consultation was prompted by the
number and complexity of issues covered within the guidance, and also by
the
extensive response that we received.

The Social Note has been revised in view of comments from both public
sector
and private bodies, and all amendments have been made in line with the
legal
and policy framework that governs public sector procurement. Further
comments are now welcomed in line with the purpose and scope of the
original
recommendation prompting this guidance (please see below).

It has not been possible to include every social issue in detail in this
note. The guidance is not meant to be an exhaustive list of social
issues.
It is intended as a general guide as to what can be considered in public
procurement at the different stages of the procurement process.

When submitting comments, we would ask that recipients bear in mind that
while the intention is to show how social issues can be incorporated in
a
positive way, OGC cannot mandate what issues departments include in
their
procurements.

As previously, we would particularly welcome comments on the following:
* Effective coverage of social issues.
* Sufficient clarity and volume in the use of examples.
* Sufficient links to other related guidance.
* Accuracy of wording on social issues.

We would be grateful for all comments by Friday 24th June 2005. These
should
be forwarded to me electronically at kate.nutt@....

<<Social Note - draft 6.0.doc>>

Background to the Social Note

The Sustainable Procurement group was established in November 2001 by
the
Secretary of State for the Environment, the Chief Secretary to the
Treasury
and the Deputy Prime Minister. Its remit was to consider how Government
could carry out the procurement of goods and services in a more
sustainable
manner within the framework that governs public sector purchasing. It
was
made up of representatives from government only.

One of the recommendations of the group was to produce guidance to
demonstrate how environmental issues might be included in public
purchasing.
This was duly produced by Defra and OGC and published in 2003. The group
also recommended the publication of a note looking at the scope to
consider
social issues in purchasing, and this is the guidance that was forwarded
for
consultation at the beginning of 2005. More information on the
recommendations can be found at:
http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/documents/publications/report0
3.pd
f.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Many thanks and kind regards

Kate Nutt
______________________________
Kate Nutt
Procurement Policy Adviser
Office of Government Commerce
Trevelyan House
26-30 Great Peter Street
London
SW1P 2BY
020 7271 2771

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