Social procurement: policy and practice

Abstract

Public sector spending can be used to further social policy objectives, through social procurement. While the potential of social procurement has long been recognised, the scope for its lawful use in practice has been uncertain and contested. EU Member States have responded to these uncertainties in different ways, both at the level of policy and practice. This paper explores some of these divergences and uncertainties through two case studies of the implementation of Directive 2014/24/EU in the UK and the Netherlands. Through these case studies the nature of EU law and its operation and absorption within varied national contexts is reflected upon, as well as the prospects for social procurement following transposition of the new Directives.