Define social value in UK public tenders

When a UK public buyer asks for social value, they want the extra public good your contract will create. Not a restatement of the specification. The extra social, economic and environmental benefit, on top of the work itself. That is the definition of social value in this setting, and it is what the scored question in the pack is for.

If you sell research, evaluation, training, web work, design or comms from a desk, you will meet this phrase. It is a set of outcomes the buyer can take into account when they choose a supplier. This post is information, with links to the Act and to GOV.UK. It is not legal or procurement advice.

What social value means

Social value meaning, in UK public contracts, is the additional well-being a contract can generate for people, places and the environment. The core service is the evaluation, the training, the website or the campaign. Social value is what else happens because you delivered that work in a particular way.

Examples that often fit a micro firm: a paid placement or shadowing week, open materials the buyer’s staff can keep, fewer journeys because you already work remotely, paying another small specialist, or applying a pay and recruitment practice you already run. People type “what are social value” when a tender treats the phrase like a list of items. Treat it as outcomes, then pick the ones the buyer has asked for. Two commitments you can measure on this contract beat a long list of unrelated good causes.

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 is the Social Value Act people mean. It applies to relevant authorities in England and Wales when they procure services.

Before they start, they must consider how what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area, how they might secure that improvement in the way they run the procurement, and whether to consult.

The legal duty is to consider, at the pre-procurement stage. It does not, by itself, force a scored question in every tender. Many buyers still evaluate social value, and central government has built a standard model for that. The Act applies to above-threshold services contracts and to framework agreements for services. Scotland uses a sustainable procurement duty under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. You still answer the pack in front of you.

The Social Value Model and PPN 002

The Social Value Model is the set of themes, policy outcomes and criteria central government uses to score social value in a consistent way. It was introduced for in-scope organisations through Procurement Policy Note 06/20. PPN 06/20 is historic and has been replaced by PPN 002. PPN 06/20 applied to procurements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

PPN 002 applies now, with a 10 per cent minimum on above-threshold central government contracts. From 1 January 2027 PPN 026 applies to contracts of £1m or more (10 per cent), with 20 per cent from £5m. Policy notes change. Use the current note on GOV.UK, the collection of procurement policy notes, and the documents in your tender, not a screenshot from a previous bid.

For you as a bidder, three things follow. The buyer names a theme (employment and skills, the environment, equal opportunity and well-being are typical). Answer that theme. The score is real: the 10 per cent minimum is for central government above-threshold contracts under PPN 002; from 1 January 2027 PPN 026 applies at £1m or more, with 20 per cent from £5m, and that weighting can separate two similar bids. And they want commitments you will report against during the contract, with actions, numbers, dates and a method of reporting.

A local authority, NHS body, university or other public buyer may use the model, a shortened version, or their own wording. Read the question, the weighting and the reporting schedule.

The Procurement Act 2023 lets a buyer award to the most advantageous tender. Criteria can include social value where they relate to the contract. The 2012 Act was not repealed, so you may face both the old consideration duty and a scored question in the same exercise.

How the question is built

Most packs use the same shape.

In the pack	What to do with it
Theme or model reference	Answer that theme. Do not swap in a different one.
Weighting	Treat it as a scored method question, not an appendix.
Word or page limit	Write to the limit. Extra text is often unread.
Method of reporting	Say what you will measure, how often, and who receives it.
Contract length	Scale the commitment to the months you are actually paid for.

A typical ask is to describe the social value you will deliver if awarded this contract, mapped to the named theme, including how you will monitor and report. Write in this order: one sentence on the outcome; the actions, with numbers and dates you can defend; who benefits, and where; how you will measure and report; one past example from work you have done, with a figure. Keep the past example as evidence of method, not as a substitute for what you will do this time.

What a small firm can put on the page

You do not need a corporate social value team. You need commitments that fit your size and that you can still show at the first contract review.

What often reads as real for a sole trader or a studio of two to nine people: named people and hours; a placement, guest session or open materials tied to the subject of the contract; travel you will not take because delivery is remote; other small firms you will pay, if you already work that way; pay, recruitment or accessibility practice you already run.

What often falls over: donations to a national charity with no link to the contract; jobs you cannot fund from the fee; copy from a website about-us page; targets copied from a larger supplier’s bid.

Under the Procurement Act 2023, a buyer can exclude a supplier for misleading information (Schedule 7, paragraph 13). Only write numbers, years, certificates and organisation names you can stand behind.

A notice reserved for small firms and charities limits who may bid. That is not social value, and it does not replace a scored social value question. If both appear, answer both.

Using Bidlark when the question arrives

Bidlark finds UK public contracts a small firm could win, reads each against your insurance and certificates, and on Pro drafts answers from your facts.

Social value questions have word limits and weightings. If your profile already holds past jobs, your size, where you work and how you deliver, a first draft can be built from that. Gaps stay in brackets for you to fill. You check every answer and submit it yourself on the buyer’s portal. Bidlark does not write, review or submit bids, and it does not give legal or procurement advice.

If you are not yet tracking notices, spot your contracts first. You will see how many notices in the last 90 days would have reached you, with a verdict on each. The job is to spend the evening on a contract that fits, not on one that asked for insurance you do not hold.

When you next open a question that says social value, read the theme, write to the limit, and use only facts you can defend. For a first draft built from the facts you have already given, start from the notice and use Bidlark drafts.