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Emberson, Caroline; Trautrims, Alexander --- "Public procurement and modern slavery risks in the English adult social care sector" [2019] ELECD 1142; in Martin-Ortega, Olga; Methven O'Brien, Claire (eds), "Public Procurement and Human Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 180

Book Title: Public Procurement and Human Rights

Editor(s): Martin-Ortega, Olga; Methven O’Brien, Claire

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: Public procurement and modern slavery risks in the English adult social care sector

Author(s): Emberson, Caroline; Trautrims, Alexander

Number of pages: 12

Abstract/Description:

Over the past three decades the provision of adult social care in England has undergone systemic change. Residential care and nursing homes previously under Local Authority control have contracted-out services to private providers and the introduction of direct payments has offered service-users greater choice of and control over their care. We present findings, from in-depth interviews with practising managers, which suggest that gaps in the existing legislative and regulatory frameworks for public procurement leave care-workers at heightened risk of modern slavery. Despite the potential benefits in terms of organisational efficiency and care personalisation that the marketisation of care has delivered, our study suggests that longer and more complex supply chains and weakened managerial oversight may have led to a widespread and serious deterioration in the employment conditions experienced by care-workers. Our findings raise questions about the protection of and accountability for human rights in these altered working conditions.