Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) was introduced in the UK by the Conservative Government throughout the 1980s, in an attempt to bring greater efficiency to local government and health services through the use of competition. While it is generally recognised that strong incentives were needed to stimulate reform, compulsion resulted in resistance by local authorities and health trusts, an immature market and poorly-conducted procurements which focused on price at the expense of quality and employment conditions.

The literature around CCT helps to explain the origins of contracting in local government in the UK and is a key to understanding some of the issues in the current marketplace.

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Performance measurement for local authority sports halls and swimming pools
Sport England, 2000
Ancient House Press
Ref: 1003
ISBN: 1 86078 128 4
UK

Competitive Tendering in Local Government: A Review of Theory and Evidence
Boyne, George, 1998
Public Administration, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Winter 1998), pp. 695-712
This paper reviews the theory regarding contracting and competition - this stems from traditional public choice theory and extensions of this model, and imply the need for the impact to be established empirically. There follows a literature review examining the impact of competition on the cost and quality of local government services.

UK

CCT and Local Authority Blue-Collar Services (Web Page)
Austin Mayhead & Co. Ltd for Local Government Research Unit, 1997
Department of the Environment
This research updates and widens earlier work (published 1993) by the Institute of Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham, into the effects of introducing competition into the provision of blue-collar services required by the Local Government Act 1988.

UK

Local Government Research Unit CCT Non-Bidders
Department of Transport, Local Government Regions, 1996

A report on a survey of the views and awareness of non-bidding firms
ISBN 0117533424
UK

The Impact of Compulsory Tendering on IT in Local Government: Some Possible Outcomes
Bryson, Colin, 1996

Unpublished working paper. Author is a lecturer in the department of Human Resources, Nottingham Business School

UK

The Impact on Local Authority Leisure Provision of Compulsory Competitive Tendering, Financial Cuts and Changing Attitudes
Nichols, Geoff and Taylor, Peter, 1995
Local Government Studies, Vol 21, No. 4 pp. 607-622


UK

Compulsory Competitive Tendering for Sport and Leisure management: A Lost Opportunity?
Coalter, Fred, 1995
Managing Leisure 1, 3-15


UK

Delivering Best Value for Leisure
Taylor, Peter, 1995
Leisure Management Contractors Association


UK

CCT: The Private Sector View: A Report on a survey of private sector firms
Department of the Environment, 1995


Ref: A5887
UK

Making Markets: A Review of the Audits of the Client Role for Contracted Services
Audit Commission, 1995
HMSO
Local Audits were carried out on 380 local authorities and reviewed against the themes of the Audit Commission's 1993 report, Realising the Benefits of  Competition. It was found that most local authorities had handled Compulsory Competitive Tendering well but improvements could be made if outputs were better specified, consumers were involved and more contractors were encouraged to compete for services. 
ISBN 011 886 147 6
UK

Guidance on the Assessment of Quality in the Application of CCT to White Collar and Professional Services
LGMB, AMA, ADC, ACC, COSLA, 1994

Guidance prepared by local authority associations in conjunction with the Joint Professions Working Party, the Institute of Housing and the Institute of Personnel Management as a companion to government advice on avoidance of anti-competitive behaviour.

UK

Why Compulsory Competitive Tendering for Local Government Services is not as Good as Privatisation? (PDF)
Frederick, Danny, 1994
Libertarian Alliance
This article argues that despite the benefits of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT), there are certain negative aspects to it.  It asserts that the biggest problem with CCT is that the values that should be produced by the services are defined by local authorities rather than the taxpayer.  This difficultly of CCT, the author argues can be remedied through privatisation.  
ISBN 1-85637-184-0
UK

Realising the Benefits of Competition: The Client Role for Contracted Services
Audit Commission, 1993
HMSO
A report on the implementation of Compulsory Competitive Tendering since the Local Government Act 1988 and the problems of working in a contractual environment.  It considers ways of overcoming common problems and makes recommendations on good practice whereby the local authority is cast in the role of a client defining the work to be delivered by the contractor and letting and managing the contract.
ISBN 011886 098 4
UK

The 1988 Local Government Act and Compulsory Competitive Tendering
David Parker, 1990
Urban Studies, Vol. 27, No. 5 (October 1990), pp. 653-667
This article reviews the Conservative's 1988 Local Government Act which extended compulsory tendering, assesses the evidence on efficiency savings, the services affected and considers the consequences for local government.

UK

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