Social value in council, NHS and housing tenders: what buyers ask when PPN 002 doesn’t apply

PPN 002 applies to central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. They must give social value at least 10% of the total score in procurements started under the Procurement Act on or after 1 October 2025. The note says other contracting authorities “may wish to apply” its approach. It does not oblige them to. Our PPN 002 guide covers the central government model.

• The National Procurement Policy Statement. All contracting authorities must have regard to it under section 13 of the Procurement Act, apart from private utilities, call-offs under frameworks and dynamic markets, and procurements under devolved Welsh or transferred Northern Irish arrangements. Its explanatory memorandum says it is meant to make procurement deliver economic growth, support small businesses and champion innovation, and that authorities should consider whether a procurement can contribute to its priorities in a way that is appropriate, proportionate and relevant.
• The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. In force since 31 January 2013, it requires those who commission public services to think about how they can also secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits. It is about services, and about the start of a procurement, when the service is designed.
• The NHS. From 1 April 2022, NHS England extended the central government approach of the time to NHS procurement, with a minimum 10% weighting for net zero and social value, according to NHS procurement hub NOE CPC. We have not confirmed how NHS England has updated this since PPN 002, so check the evaluation section of each NHS tender.
• Wales. Welsh tenders often tie the contract to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023, as the Qualifications Wales example in our PPN 002 guide shows.

Many councils publish a social value policy; where one exists, read it before the question. One example, chosen only to show the shape, is South Ribble Borough Council’s:

• social value is considered for procurements over £100,000, where relevant and proportionate;
• it carries a minimum of 15% of the evaluation score on contracts above £100,000, with consultancy and IT decided case by case;
• offers are measured with a customised “lite” version of the National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes and Measures), working with the Social Value Portal;
• suppliers may be asked how they will deliver across five areas, from local skills and employment to decarbonisation;
• winning offers go into the contract, and the contract manager monitors and reports on them.

Other councils set other weightings and thresholds. The point is that the policy tells you the weighting, the measures and the reporting before you open the question. Search the council’s website for “social value policy”.

Housing associations that publish on Find a Tender set their own approach. Read the evaluation section for the weighting and whether answers are scored against a measures list, and the specification for what is required anyway, such as resident engagement or local labour. A requirement in the specification has to be met, whatever the social value question scores.

1. Pick one or two measures that fit the contract and the buyer’s policy. Two commitments you can clearly deliver are easier to evaluate, and to monitor, than a long list of small ones.
2. Make each one specific, measurable and dated: how many, for whom, by when, reported how often.
3. Tie it to the contract’s place and people. Council policies such as South Ribble’s put local skills and employment first, so name the area and the local route, such as a college or an employment service.
4. Cost it and staff it. If the policy puts winning offers into the contract, an offer you cannot resource becomes a breach.
5. Separate past from future. What you did on another contract is evidence; what you will do on this one is the commitment.

For Brackwell Facilities Ltd (fictional), a 38-person maintenance firm bidding for a council’s grounds maintenance contract. Invented illustrations, not client examples.

Each is small, local and checkable. That is what an evaluator can score, and what a contract manager can monitor.

• Is the weighting and the measures list in the pack? If not, is the buyer’s policy?
• Does each commitment have a number, a date and a reporting line?
• Have you checked the specification for social value requirements that are pass/fail?
• Is every commitment one you can resource for the whole contract?

1. Evendraft’s open tender directory, 24 October 2026: buyer names containing “Council”, “Housing” or “Homes”, and “NHS”, among the 2,011 open tenders listed. evendraft.pages.dev/tenders/
2. PPN 002: Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts (paras 3, 6, 7, 10, 11). www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-002-taking-account-of-social-value-in-the-award-of-contracts/ppn-002-taking-account-of-social-value-in-the-award-of-central-government-contracts-html
3. National Procurement Policy Statement: publication page (who must have regard to it, and exceptions), updated 4 March 2025. www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-procurement-policy-statement
4. Explanatory Memorandum to the National Procurement Policy Statement (para 5.4). www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-procurement-policy-statement/explanatory-memorandum-to-the-national-procurement-policy-statement
5. Social Value Act: information and resources (gov.uk), updated 29 March 2021. www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-value-act-information-and-resources/social-value-act-information-and-resources
6. PPN 003: The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 (para 1: in force 31 January 2013). www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-003-the-public-services-social-value-act-2012/ppn-003-the-public-services-social-value-act-2012-html
7. NOE CPC (NHS procurement hub): One year on since the introduction of 10% weighting for social value in procurement, 11 April 2023. www.noecpc.nhs.uk/news/one-year-on-since-the-introduction-of-10-weighting-for-ssv-in-procurement
8. South Ribble Borough Council: Social Value Policy, Delivery (points 1–8). southribble.gov.uk/council-spending/social-value-policy/6

Read on 24 October 2026. Guidance and tender documents change; check the current version before relying on any detail. Examples that use a fictional supplier say so.