Achieving community benefits through contracts

To make employment and training or other community benefits key outcomes of a public expenditure programme, they need to be incorporated into the specification of what is being purchased or funded. The legislative and the policy frameworks for doing this are complex and there has been a lack of detailed guidance, especially in relation to UK policy and legislation, the European Treaty and EC Procurement Directives. In this report the understanding of procurement issues has been furthered by discussions with the Treasury and the Office of Government Commerce. It provides, for the first time, clear guidance on these matters. Specifically, it:·[vbTab]details the relevant policy and legal frameworks;·[vbTab]sets out procedures that can be used;·[vbTab]suggests support that needs to be provided;·[vbTab]gives examples of good practice.