The Office of Fair Trading is to look into how the systems used by public sector for buying goods and services affects competition. It has commissioned preliminary research into the impact of public sector procurement.Consultants are to be asked to carry out a broad-ranging economic analysis of how buying by public bodies might result in both positive and negative results. The research will also try to identify specific markets where public procurement is likely to have an impact.

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A new report has shown that National Health Service’s Childcare Strategy is helping to recruit and retain vital staff. It shows that almost a third of parents felt the strategy had helped them to stay in work or to return to it.The report, produced by the national childcare charity Daycare Trust, also reveals that just over eight out of ten parents working in the NHS felt it had been helpful in meeting their childcare needs. But the report also identifies areas where childcare provision could be improved and where work needs to be done locally.

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By Sue Arthur Some people choose to retire early, others have early retirement thrust upon them. The author identified the most vulnerable groups among the early retirerers and the barriers to finding alternative paid employment. She sets out evidence that supports calls for the development of employment policies that allow people to retire at a time and in a way that suits their circumstances.