The Article 19 regulations form a part of European legislation that allows organisations to reserve public contracts for supported businesses. The procurement of any goods an/or services can be reserved. A supported business employs disabled people as over 50% of its workforce. This means it’s ok to invite only supported businesses to bid for the work. For contracts under £144k you simply invite the supported business to bid or offer them the chance to match your best price. For larger contracts simply tick the ‘reserve under Article 19’ box in the EU advert.

Good procurement is not just about low prices. It's about balancing whole life cost and fitness for purpose whilst meeting EU rules and treating suppliers fairly.There are many ways in which Article 19 can add value to your procurement strategy:

• Simplify procurement - reduce the amount of bids that have to be evaluated thus saving time and money
• Fulfil social objectives - public money can be spent supporting Government’s objectives to get more disabled people into work
• Comply with Treasury guidance - procurement regulations say you should have at least one contract with a supported business. Good procurement can support local objectives across a range of policy areas and help to meet national indicators
• Make a real difference to people’s lives and to your local economy