Social workers incorrectly procured by the Social Welfare Committee of Region Gotland

“It’s important to plan procurements in such a way that illegal direct award of contracts doesn´t occur,” emphasizes Rikard Jermsten, Director-General of the Swedish Competition Authority. 

For an extended period of time, the Social Welfare Committee of Region Gotland has had difficulty recruiting social workers and therefore purchased staffing services to meet this need. It was not until autumn 2018 that the Committee ensured that there was an announced procurement in place by establishing a dynamic purchasing system. However, direct award of contracts of staffing services have occurred even after the system was established. In 2018, the Committee directly procured staffing services for social service officers and social workers for more than SEK 7 million.

“When procurements are announced according to the rules so that more suppliers have the possibility to submit tenders, the chances increase of the best tender with the most advantageous terms winning,” says Rikard Jermsten.

The Swedish Competition Authority is now taking the matter further to the Administrative Court of Stockholm with the demand that Region Gotland be sentenced to pay SEK 530,000 in procurement fines.

Read the application (in Swedish), dnr 688/2019