The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has called for a review of public sector framework agreements, arguing that they fail to deliver value for money, and are unfair to smaller recruiters.

Tom Hadley, director of external relations, said that such agreements were part of a regrettable trend driven by procurement professionals, which focused on saving money rather than on quality. "Framework agreements may provide cost savings, but are they delivering value for money? I would say not," he said.

Hadley was particularly critical of the current Office of Government Commerce (OGC) framework agreement for the provision of temporary staff into key government departments. "The OGC framework agreement seems to be militating against smaller recruiters. One of its requirements is that recruiters should have national coverage," he said. "Public procurement is the new red tape."

Ian Storer, managing director of Corepeople, a Durham-based recruiter said; "Large framework agreements almost discriminate against smaller regional operators." This is simply because they cannot provide national coverage, he said, before adding that he spoke "from bitter experience."

Hadley said he was worried that the OGC framework agreement could provide the blueprint for others. "Most government departments are now going down this road, including the Home Office and the MoD. It could set a precedent for any public bodies. That is why it is a concern."

They also helped to devalue much of the good work that recruiters were doing to raise standards in areas such as diversity, he argued.

The REC was not necessarily calling for an end to framework agreements, said Hadley. But there needed to be a review. "What we need to do is to look at whether they are really delivering value for money, and militating against smaller recruiters."

Hadley said that the REC would be discussing the matter with the OGC, as well as taking it up with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Authority, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and the Federation of Small Businesses as part what he called "a concerted campaign". Representations would then be made to the Department of Trade and Industry, he added.