Most of us have to work for a living, and our daily experience of work exerts a significant influence on our quality of life. Many employers understand that good working conditions help employees to flourish and that makes good business sense. But in a period where work is failing to lift over six million households out of poverty in the UK, creating good jobs can’t just be left alone to market forces. Policy makers need to scrutinise quality of work and ask where they can require, influence and support change in the workplace.

Understanding the trends which are impacting work quality – flat wages, low levels of training, lack of opportunities in too many of our communities– is one thing, but applying policy solutions requires concerted thought and action. Using procurement to influence the availability of good work is a potential lever being extolled and explored in many areas around the UK. Direct public sector employment accounts for only 17% of UK employment. But indirectly, through their procurement spend and local reach and influence into our communities, public bodies have an opportunity to tie the awarding of publicly funded contracts into good employment practices - like paying the living wage, offering training and work experience opportunities or flexible, inclusive working practices. This could be a significant influencer of good work in a local area, region or jurisdiction.

The rationale is strong and compelling - but examples of practice and results are more elusive. Developing the current norms of procurement practice, with the ever-pressing need to achieve value for money, to include a meaningful focus on driving good work is challenging. The interviewees in this report describe ‘pockets of enlightenment,’ but: ‘It still feels a bit like procurement is just a careful risk management exercise with social value sprinkled on.’ There are a number of stubborn obstacles – legal, practical, technical, behavioural – to achieving more.

Through our partnership with Durham University, and focusing on the North East of England, this report explores these barriers and asks how they can be overcome. It is the outcome of a series of in-depth interviews with regional stakeholders – the procurement and senior leadership teams in public sector bodies, the regional employers who supply goods and service, and the voluntary, academic and campaigning sectors examining these issues. We are grateful for the excellent work undertaken by Dr. Deborah Harrison and Phillip Edwards at Durham University, and particularly for the insight and candour of the research participants.