- Introduction
The 2012 Public Services (Social Value) Act and more recently Procurement Policy Statement (6/20) places an obligation upon all councils to consider how they can secure social, economic and environmental benefits from the procurement of public contracts.
2. What is Social Value
The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 states: “If a relevant authority proposes to procure or make arrangements for procuring the provision of services, or the provision of services together with the purchase or hire of goods or the carrying out of works…the authority must consider how what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area and, in conducting the process of procurement, how it might act with a view to securing that improvement.”
In order to implement this we seek measurable and verifiable social value outcomes that:
- are relevant to what is proposed to be procured and proportionate to the contract / grant value,
- can legitimately be included in contract / grant specifications and
- contribute to achieving the Council’s priorities
Social Value has been defined as the additional benefit to the community from a commissioning/procurement process over and above the direct purchasing of goods, services and outcomes.
To fully deliver social value and have it embedded and considered, officers must move away from just considering the core service being delivered by a supplier to one that recognises the overall value of outcomes delivered.
3. Why Social Value is important to the Council?
It has been proven that Councils that have fully and successfully embedded social value requirements in their procurement process have received social value ‘additionality’ by way of direct community benefits. Requiring suppliers to deliver social benefits while they deliver the main element of their contract means that there is a magnified benefit for the Council. Incorporating social value into our commissioning and procurement process is not difficult and can make a tangible difference to Tamworth residents, the local community, businesses, to service delivery and to the council’s spending plans as a whole.
4. Aim - Policy Statement
Tamworth Borough Council ‘The Council’ recognises the important role it can play in enabling Social Value through its procurement activity. Through our approach to social value, we will secure benefits for Tamworth residents, communities and businesses by integrating economic, environmental and social sustainability into our procurement processes, in accordance with the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 ‘the Act’.
5. Objectives
The Council intends to commit itself to social value by going beyond the requirements of the Act and implementing this policy into all aspects of its commissioning and procurement activity over £10,000. The overarching intent of this policy is to set out the Council’s approach and ambition to realise meaningful Social Value benefits from our suppliers.
The policy objectives aim to:
- Ensure that all contracts over £10K demonstrate the addition of real Social Value.
- Reduce Carbon & Vehicle emissions in Tamworth.
- Promote environmental sustainability
- Increase & enhance biodiversity in Tamworth
- Promote the local economy, so that small and medium sized enterprises and the voluntary and community sector in Tamworth can thrive.
- Create and/or promote local employment and training
- Build the capacity and sustainability of the voluntary and community sector by accessing and actively supporting local voluntary, community groups
6. Benefits of Social Value
Adoption of this policy can provide the following benefits:
- Promoting supplier diversity; including the participation of small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s), third sector organisations, and local suppliers in general
- Promoting fair employment practices
- Ensuring workforce equality and diversity within supply chains
- Improving recruitment and training needs, offering apprenticeship, training and skills development opportunities as well as employment opportunities
- Maximising opportunities for local organisations to participate in the council’s supply chains and encouraging suppliers to make a social contribution to the local area
- Promoting greater environmental sustainability.
7. Applying the Policy
This policy applies to all service and supplies contracts with a value above £10,000.
As part of the procurement process suppliers will be asked to make a number of social value pledges dependant on their contract value. The suggested council pledges can be viewed in Appendix 4. The minimum number of pledges required versus contract value is detailed in the table below.
| Contract Value | Number of pledges required from any social value area (environmental, social or economic) |
| £10,000 - £25,000 | 1 |
| £25,001 - £50,000 | 2 |
| £50,001 - £75,000 | 3 |
| £75,001 - £100,000 | 4 |
| £100,001 - £214,903 | 5 |
| £214,904 and over | 6 |
A pledge can be undertaken or committed to more than once and count as more than one pledge e.g. “Support people into work in Tamworth. Provide unemployed people with career mentoring, mock interviews sessions, CV advice, and careers guidance” if offered to 3 members of the community this would count as 3 pledges.
During the procurement process, the standard weighting for social value will be a minimum 5% of the overall evaluation score. Where it is feasible, this may be higher, if after considering the contract and its subject matter, it is identified as needing to be appropriately adjusted, enabling social value to be proportionate and relevant in all contracts.
Procurement evaluation for Social Value will be scored using the criteria below:
| Score | Rating | Rationale |
| 0 | Unacceptable | Does not meet the requirement. Does not comply and/or provides insufficient information to demonstrate that the bidder has the understanding or ability to deliver social value commitments. |
| 1 | Very Poor | Significant reservations regarding the bidder's understanding and ability required to provide social value, with little or no ' evidence to support the response |
| 2 | Concern | Some reservations regarding the bidder's understanding and ability required to provide social value with minimal evidence to support the response |
| 3 | Acceptable | Satisfies the requirement. The response demonstrates the commitment, understanding and ability required to deliver social value, with evidence to support it |
| 4 | Good | Satisfies the requirement with good clarity. The response demonstrates the understanding, relationships and ability required to deliver social value. The response clearly identifies clear local responses and provides a clear action plan for delivery |
| 5 | Very Good | Exceeds the requirement. The response demonstrates exceptional local awareness, understanding and ability required to deliver social value. Response identifies factors that will offer a clear lasting legacy locally with a robust local action plan |
Support and moderation can be provided to the contract manager from relevant officers e.g. Procurement Officer, Climate Change Officer if required.
When publishing an ITQ or ITT the associated document showing suppliers our Social Value priorities & suggested pledges will be made available to them to select from.
8. Reporting on social value
The Council will report on the social value pledges and outcomes achieved through its commissioning and procurement activities annually to CMT.
On commencement of every commissioning activity the Contract Manager and Procurement Officer will determine the social value outcomes to be achieved and how they will be measured and evidenced. It is the responsibility of the contract manager to record the measurable outcomes and supply this information to the Procurement Team for annual reporting.
9. Legislative Context
This policy will be delivered within a significant and complicated legislative framework, including but not exclusively:
- (Public Services) Social Value Act 2012
- Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCRs)
- Local Government Act 2000
- Equality Act 2010
- Competition Act 1998
- Local Government Transparency Code 2015
10. Policy Context
This policy has been developed with consideration of a number of approved strategic and policy documents, including but not exclusively:
- Tamworth Borough Council’s Corporate Plan
- Corporate Environment Plan
- National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England 2018
The Social Value Policy is aligned to the Council’s Corporate Plan priorities and benefits delivered through this policy link back to the commitments the Council’s has made in the overarching Corporate Plan.